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NEWELL'S BRIDGE, WILLOW STREET. 



Narrative Ibtstor^ 



A HISTORY 



DOVER, MASSACHUSETTS 



Precinct, Parish, District, and Town 



BY / 

FRANK ^MITH 






I 



DOVER, MASS. 

PUBLISHED 1!Y THE TOWN 
1897 



COPYRIGHTED 1897 



FRANK SMITH 



IS, PRINTER, 141 FBANKUN STREET, BOSTON 



,n Hil 



F AKA 



07 



till 



Manuscript accepted by the Town and ordered 
PRINTED April 24, 1896. 




" In any age it is a dvity which every country owes to itself to pre- 
ivve the records of its past, and to honor the men and women whose 
ves and deeds made possible its present." 

History is the great looking-glass through which we may behold, 
ith ancestral eyes, not only the various deeds of past ages and the odd 
"cidents that attend time, but also discover the different humors of 
en. — Howell. 



AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED 
TO THE MEMORY OF 

JENNIE GERTRUDE SMITH 

WHOSE PATIENT RESEARCH MADE POSSIBLE THE WRITING OF 

THESE PAGES AMID THE EXACTING DUTIES 

OF A BUSY LIFE 



PREFACE. 



The writing of this history has been a labor of love. It 
had its origin in the desire to do something for the place of 
one's birth. 

Since history records the life of the people, it is easily 
seen that nothing can be of more value or of more abiding 
interest than the story of the labors, the fortitude, the pri- 
vations, the heroism, the patriotism, and the loves of the 
fathers. In the evolution of the town, in the establishment 
of its institutions, in the life of its men and women, we have 
an abiding example worthy of all emulation. It emphasizes 
the truth that men must bear one another's hardships and 
burdens, and that there is nothing lasting that is not founded 
on honor, virtue, duty, and purity. 

The author is under obligations to the many friends who 
have rendered him assistance in this work, and it is with 
sadness that he recalls the interest of those who now sleep 
with the fathers. A second volume will follow, giving not 
only the genealogy of present families, but also all residents 
previous to 1840, since which time complete records have 
been kept by the Commonwealth, 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 



FACING 
PAGE 

I. Newell's Bridge. Frontispiece. 

II. The Winding Charles 34 

III. Old Caryl Parsonage, built 1777 56 

IV. Articles used in the Home Life of a Past Gen- 

eration 68 

V. Williams' Tavern 86 

VI. Old Farm Implements 114 

VII. First Parish Unitarian Church 150 

■ VIII. Interior First Parish Church 168 

■ IX. Baptist Chapel 184 

X. Evangelical Congregational Church 192 

> XI. Cemetery 200 

> XII. Sanger Schoolhouse 208 

, XIII. North Schoolhouse 218 

• XIV. West Schoolhouse 228 

« XV. East Schoolhouse 240 

■■ XVI. Town Hall 250 

' XVII. Railroad Station 270 

XVIII. Old Apple Trees said to have been grown from 

Seed brought from England 274 

- XIX. Waterfall at Old Mill 282 

. XX. Dingle Hole Narrows 323 



MAPS. 



I. Reproduction of the Map of 1831. 
II. Streets and Residences, i8q6. 



HISTORY OF DOVER 



The illustrations were made from photographs taken by John F. 
Guild, of Dedham, who spared no time or effort in producing the best 
work. Only two of the pictures need explanation. Among the " Arti- 
cles used in the Home Life of a Past Generation " will be seen the 
cradle that rocked the children of the Rev. Mr. Caryl ; near it a large 
reel, splint-bottomed chair, and small spinning-wheel — a flax wheel, 
with a hatchel attached. On the seat of the settle rests a pair of wool 
cards, tin lantern, foot-stove, knapsack, and powder-horns, probably 
used in the Revolution. The large spinning-wheel — a wool wheel — 
stands at the right, with brass kettles and grain sieve behind. On 
either side of the reel are implements used in manufacturing straw hats 
and bonnets. The Dutch baker and tin kitchen, with spit for roast- 
ing meat, appears, with wooden bowl, wooden shovel, warming-pan, 
and besom. A pair of snow-shoes rest in front of the settle, with a 
collection of ironware used in cooking. 

In the picture of " Old Farm Implements " will be seen a revolving 
horse-rake, with grain cradle and wooden ploughs in front. A flax- 
break rests against the wall, with an ox-yoke at the right. The harrow 
■was used on the day of the battle of Lexington. At the right are a 
peat-knife and ditch-digger, while a pair of mud-shoes, flail, and sickles 
rest in the foreground. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

PAGE 

Outline of the Toavx i y 

Topography — Name — Hills — Brooks — ■ Bridges — Highways 

— Natural Curiosities — Indians — Wild Animals — Areas 

— Farming — Boundary — Indian Ownership — Massa- 
chusetts Bay Colony — Population — Town Seal — 
Streets. 

CHAPTER II. 

The Beginning of Parish Life 20 

Fourth Precinct of Dedham — Character of the People — ■ Early 
Settlers in Dover — Henry Wilson — Thomas Battle — 
Nathaniel Chickering — James Draper — Old Fortification 

— First Effort to be made a Precinct — First Tax List — 
Petition to the General Court and Signers — Organization 
of the Precinct and Election of Officers. 

CHAPTER III. 
Building the Meeting-house 29 

Building Committee — Dimensions of the Meeting-house — 
Site — Committee on the Site — Report of the Commit- 
tee — Description of the Accepted Site — Meeting-house, 
when raised — Dedication — Committee on Seating the 
Meeting-house — Seats for Young Men, Young Women, 
Boys — -Seats, how dignified. 

CHAPTER IV. 
How THEY SECURED A MINISTER 44 

The First Preacher — Letter from the Grand Jury of Suffolk 
County — Pviblic Worship not Continuous until 1759 — 
Application for a Division of First Church Lands — Vote 
to call a Minister — Joseph Manning — Samuel Dana — 
Supplies — Call to Benjamin Caryl — Organization of the 
Church. 



J 



Xll HISTORY OF DOVER 

CHAPTER V. 

I'AGE 

The First Minister 55 

Benjamin Caryl — Letter of Acceptance — Ordination — A 
Confession of Faitli — Cliurch Covenant — Selection of 
Deacons — Gift of Land for a Parsonage — Mr. Caryl's 
Bible — Death of Mr. Caryl — Funeral — Estimate of his 
Character — Day of Fasting and Prayer — Gravestone 
Erected to his Memory. 

CHAPTER VI. 

Social Life and Conditions 67 

Old Families — Books and Newspapers — Uncomfortable 
Meeting-houses — Farm Life — Quilting — Flowers — Old 
Houses — House -furnishings — Wooden Plates — Price 
of Farm Products — Travel — " Bundle Handkerchiefs " — 
Life among the Boys and Girls. 

CHAPTER Vn. 

Colonial Contests 81 

Early Military Organization — Louisburg — Crown Point — 
Repeal of the Stamp Act — Sons of Liberty — Boston 
Tea-party — Committee appointed to see that No Tea was 
drunk in the Springfield Parish — Vote not to purchase 
Imported Articles — Committee of Correspondence — 
Tories. 

CHAPTER VIII. 
The Springfield Parish in the Revolution ... 90 
Battle of Lexington — Death of Elias Haven — Capt. Eben- 
ezer Battle's Company of Minute-men — Battle of Bunker 
Hill — Dorchester Heights — Battle of Trenton — Valley 
Forge — Cherry Valley — Continental Money — Revolu- 
tionary Supplies — Petition of Daniel Whiting to General 
Court — Discipline of Continental Army. 

CHAPTER IX. 
Military Services 115 

Individual Records — Lexington Alarm ^ Dorchester Heights 

— Battle of Bunker Hill — Ticonderoga — Rhode Island 

— Castle Island — Boston — Cambridge — Roxbury. 



CONTENTS xiu 

CHAPTER X. 

PAGE 

Military Services. — Contbiued 132 

Shays's Rebellion — Difficulty in Raising Soldiers — Second 
War with Great Britain — Ports blockaded — Service of 
Dover Soldiers — ^ Militia — Service of Dover Officers in 
the Militia — Memorial Day. 

CHAPTER XL 
The Second Meeting-house 143 

Committee on New Meeting-house — Meeting-house burned 
— Selection of Grounds — Exchange of Land — Meeting- 
house patterned after Church in Roxbury — Dedication — 
Method of Assessing Pews — Rules for Seating the Meet- 
ing-house. 

CHAPTER XH. 
The Second Minister 150 

Call extended to Mr. Ralph Sanger — Letter of Acceptance — 
Ordination — Efforts to liberalize the Church — Work in 
behalf of Education, Agriculture, Temperance, Railroad — 
Degree of Doctor of Divinity — Resignation — Death in 
Cambridge. 

CHAPTER XHL 
Ecclesiastical History 167 

The Third Minister — Ordination of Edward Barker, the Rev. 
George Proctor, the Rev. C. S. Locke, the Rev. Eugene 
De Normandie, the Rev. G. H. Badger, the Rev. Obed 
Eldridge, the Rev. P. S. Thacher — First Sunday-school — 
Parish Library — Christmas Celebration — Ladies' Benevo- 
lent Society — Church Decoration — Easter. 

CHAPTER XIV. 
Ecclesiastical History. — Continued . .■ 183 

Baptist Church — the Rev. A. E. Battelle — Second Congrega- 
tional Church — the Rev. George Champion — the Rev. 
Calvin White — the Rev. O. W. Cooley — the Rev. John 
Haskell — the Rev. Thomas Norton — the Rev. J. G. Wil- 



XIV HISTORY OF DOVER 

PAGE 

son — the Rev. S. C. Strong — the Rev. John Wood — 
the Rev. Pierce Pinch — the Rev. J. W. Brownville — the 
Rev. P. C. Headley — the Rev. H. L. Howard — the Rev. 
^ A. M. Rice — the Rev. A. H. Tyler — the Rev. Edwin 

Leonard — Christian Endeavor Society — Millerites — 
Catholics. 

CHAPTER XV. 
Cemetery 194 

First Burial — Land given by Nathaniel Chickering — First 
Gravestone — Hearse — Improvement and Enlargement of 
the Cemetery ^ — Funeral Customs — Care of Cemetery — 
Epitaphs — Naming the Cemetery. 

CHAPTER XVL 
Schools 203 

First Schoolhouse — Dame School — Appropriation for Scliools 

— First Woman Teacher — New England Primer — Re- 
quired Studies — New Schoolhouse — School Committee 

, — Superintendent — First Free Books — Center School 

— Sanger School — Organization of High School — East 
School — West School — The South District — North 
School — School Libraries — College Graduates. 

CHAPTER XVIL 

Civil History 222 

The Evolution of the Town — Vote of Dedham Town-meet- 
ing — Act of Incorporation — Board of District Officers — 
Annual Town-meetings — Post-office. 

CHAPTER XVIII. 
Civil History. — Continued 236 

Hartford Turnpike — Small-pox — Fire-engine — Tavern-keep- 
ers — Proprietors' Library- — How the Poor were cared for 

— Town Hall — Town Library — Agricultural Library — 
Representatives to the General Court — Selectmen — 
Town-clerks — Treasurers — Superintendents of Schools. 



CONl^ENTS XV 

CHAPTER XIX. 

I'AGE 

Civil History. — Continued 256 

Highways — First Road — Court Street — Medfield Road — 
Waipole Street — Labor on Highways — Breaking Roads 
in Winter — Training Days — Parks — Common — Spring- 
dale Park — Metropolitan Park System — Charles River 
Railroad — Charles River Branch Railroad — New Eng- 
land Railroad. 

CHAPTER XX. 

Societies and Orgaxizations 273 

Temperance Reform — Drinking Custom at Funerals and Or- 
dinations — Cider-mills — Norfolk County Temperance 
Union — Band of Hope — Sons of Temperance — School- 
house Meetings — Dover Temperance Union — Organiza- 
tion of the Grange — Needham Farmers' and Mechanics' 
Association — Debating Society- — Historical Society — 
Centennial Celebration. 

CHAPTER XXI. 
Manufacturing and Industries 2S0 

Mills — Whip Factory — Straw Business- — Brush Factory — 
Shoe Business — Ploughs — Hoops — Paper — Cigars — 
Charcoal — Blacksmiths — Wheelwright — Milk Business 

— Stores — Inventions — Authorship — Agriculture. 

CHAPTER XXII. 
The Civil War 301 

Tidings of War — Liberty-poles — Battles in which Dover 
Soldiers served — Names of Dover Soldiers killed or died 
in Service — Home Guards ^ — Action of the Town — Re- 
cruiting Committee — Amount of Money raised — Draft 

— Patriotic Women — War Envelopes — Record of the 
Soldiers in the Army and Navy. 

CHAPTER XXIII. 
Natural History 



0-0 



Geology — Mineralogy — Flora — Weeds — Sylva — Shrubs 
and Vines — P^erns — Fauna — Birds. 



DOVER, MASSACHUSETTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

OUTLINE OF THE TOWN. 

Topography — Name — Hills — Brooks — Bridges — 
Highways — Natural Curiosities — Indians — Wild 
Animals — Areas — Farming — Boundary — Indian 
Ownership — Massachusetts Bay Colony — Popula- 
tion — Town Seal — Streets. 

Snow in hushes falling, 

Blue day creeping by, 
Trees in still processions 

Etched upon the sky; 
And a silent village 

Where the gray stones lean, 
Whispering of a Dover 

They alone have seen. 

— William C. Gannett. 

Dover forms a part of the westerly boundary of Nor- 
folk County. Before the organization of this county it 
belonged to Suffolk County ; and when, after its organ- 
ization, in 1793, a strong opposition arose, nine towns 
having petitioned to be set back to Suffolk County, 
Dover chose Capt. Samuel Fisher to oppose this action 
and keep the new county intact. 

At the point of the First Parish church it has an 
exact latitude of 42°, 14', 45", north, and longitude west 
of Greenwich of 71°, 17', 0.29". Dover is bounded on 



2 HISTORY OF DOVER 

the north by Wellesley and Needham, on the south by 
Medfield and Walpole, on the east by Dedham, and 
on the west by Sherborn and Natick. Charles River, 

" That in silence windest 
Through the meadows bright and free," 

skirts the town in its zigzag course for ten and a half 
miles ; and the echo of the white man's paddle is heard 
to-day where that of the Indian resounded two hundred 
years ago. Like Natick, it might be called " a place of 
hills." Dover is located on the central division of the 
New England Railroad, and the residents are accommo- 
dated by three stations ; namely, Dover, Farm Street, 
and Charles River Village. 

By rail the town is 15.8 miles from Boston, and by 
carriage road 16.36 miles from the City Hall. 

Dover is strictly an agricultural town, and has at 
present sixty-four farms having ten or more acres 
under cultivation, together with numerous smaller ones. 
There are one hundred and forty-seven dwelling-houses. 
It was for many years a part of Dedham, being called 
the Fourth, or Springfield, Parish. The inhabitants 
petitioned the General Court in 1782 to be incorporated 
into a town by the name of Derby ; but the smallness 
of the population, which did not number above four hun- 
dred and fifty souls, prevented such an incorporation. 

We do not find that the parish selected the name for 
the proposed town. The choice was probably left to 
the chairman of the committee. Col. John Jones, a man 
of prominence in the parish, who is described as " a 
well-formed, well-dressed man, who rode in his own car- 
riage, lived in handsome style, performed no manual 



OUTLINE OF THE TOWN 3 

labor, wore a ruffled shirt, and was one of the three 
personages that constituted, in Mrs. Stowe's * Oldtown 
Folks,' 'our House of Lords.'" His tastes and habits 
were English ; and he probably selected the name in 
honor of Derby, England, a fine town and county. In 
the bill of incorporation the name was changed, while 
in the Senate, to Dover, which, tradition says, was given 
in honor of Dover, England. Either name would prob- 
ably satisfy Colonel Jones's fondness for old English 
names. 

Of all the original territory of Dedham none is more 
picturesque or varied in its scenery than this town. 
Standing on the summit of Meeting-house Hill, one 
beholds a panorama of varied beauty in hill and dale, 
in wood and field, in flowing stream and winding street, 
and in the pleasant homes that dot the landscape. A 
broad meadow lies at one's feet, which, when clad in 
the tender green of sprouting grass and leafing tree, 
adds much to the beauty of the surroundings. 

Here is a pair of brooks, whose water, filtered through 
the eminences around, is of that purity which exhilarates 
both man and beast. The streams have met and — in 
the words of Frank Bolles, describing a visit to Pegan 
Hill near by — "pledged eternal friendship and passed 
on united, singing, looking up blue-eyed toward heaven." 

At the north, Pegan Hill, a part of which lies across 
the boundary line in Natick, rises very gradually to an 
elevation of four hundred and twenty feet. Large at 
its base, this hill does not show its height as readily 
as one covering a smaller area. Pegan Hill is one of 
the most accessible and beautiful hills in eastern Massa- 
chusetts, and was named for the Pegan Indian family. 



4 HISTORY OF DOVER 

It commands a view of some twenty villages. From its 
top on a clear day Bmiker Hill Monument — a slender 
gray thread against the blue — and the State House can 
be seen with the naked eye, while Wachusett and 
Monadnock stand out in prominence at the northwest. 
Nestling at its base are attractive homes and fertile 
farms, all of which were originally conveyed by Indian 
titles. 

Strawberry Hill, in the easterly part of the town, so 
named by the early Dedham settlers on account of the 
great abundance of wild strawberries which grew there, 
covers a large area, and rises to an elevation of two 
hundred feet above the level of Charles River, which 
flows at its base. This hill furnishes most delightful 
views. Fertile farms abound, and some of them were 
among the first settled outside of the village of Dedham. 

Miller Hill — three hundred feet — is very accessi- 
ble ; and much of its surface is easy of cultivation. 

Pine Rock Hill — four hundred and forty-nine feet — 
rises from wooded surroundings to a greater height than 
any other elevation in this section of the country except 
the Blue Hill range, six hundred and thirty-five feet, 
which is the only eminence of a distinctively mountain- 
ous character on the Atlantic sea-coast line south of 
Maine. 

The tourist who climbs Pine Rock Hill gains a view 
of wide extent, and under favorable circumstances may 
discern ships at sail on Massachusetts Bay. 

Cedar Hill — four hundred feet — and Oak Hill — 
three hundred and sixty feet — in the southerly part of 
the town, furnish three varieties of granite of great 
strength and beauty. The court-house at Dedham, one 



OUTLINE OF THE TOWN 5 

of the finest in the country, was built of granite quar- 
ried among these hills, which was also used in the con- 
struction of the asylum at Medfield. 

Having their source here are numerous brooks, which 
irrigate fertile meadows and furnish a never-failing water 
supply. 

Big Brook, as it is called in the Dedham records, in 
the grant of land upon its borders, is the largest stream, 
and flows westward into Charles River. 

Clay Brook was so named because the early Dedham 
settlers dug clay in the vicinity, which was used in the 
construction of their dwellings. 

Mill Brook rises in Dedham, flows a southerly course, 
and enters Charles River. 

Mill Brook (in Medfield) rises in Dover, flows south- 
erly, and is crossed by the highway near the Farm 
Street station. 

Noanet Brook played an important part in early land 
transactions, defining bounds of grants to settlers, and 
was named for the Indian chief Noanet. 

Trout Brook, in the center of the town, is fed by 
boiling springs. The water is of crystal purity, and 
abounds in the beautiful fish for which the brook was 
named. 

Tubwreck Brook, which rises in the Great Spring, ^ 
the northerly source of the Neponset River. Its nai 
celebrates a humorous incident. One spring, whf^ ^"^ 
brook was unusually swollen, Capt. James ^^^d^le 
attempted, in a half hogshead, to sail down '" ^^r^am, 
preparatory to gathering flood cranbern ^^b 

became unmanageable and capsized. C _ isdale s 
friends made much of this event. P y oi snip- 



6 HISTORY OF DOVER 

bread, together with such other articles as might be 
washed ashore from the wreck of a merchant ship, were 
left at his door ; and the neighbors gathered in large 
numbers, and celebrated his rescue from the wreck. 
An original poem, telling this story, was repeated for 
many years around Dover firesides. From that time 
the stream was called Tubwreck Brook. 

Reserve Pond, near the Great Spring, originally cov- 
ered some twenty acres of land. It stored a large 
quantity of water, which was kept in reserve to supple- 
ment, whenever needed, the main stream of the New 
Mill corporation. The source of supply for their pond 
is so evenly balanced, by the watershed of the Neponset 
and Charles Rivers, that water can be made to flow 
through either stream into the Atlantic Ocean. 

Great Spring, in the southeasterly part of the town, 
furnishes a never-failing water supply, and is a spring 
of unusual dimensions. 

Neponset River, which has its northerly source in 
Dover, was named for the Neponset tribe of Indians. 
It flows easterly, and empties into Dorchester Bay. 
Neponset River is of historic interest, as the first 
American railroad, built in 1826, extended from a 
grj-oyN-e quarry in Quincy to the tidewater of the 
'ponset River, where the granite was loaded into 
• "€ls and shipped to various parts of the country. 

^ ^) t^ River, which was named for Prince Charles 
of briii. ^^ was once a much more rapid stream than 
at preseu j^ iZ'^i the average width was six rods. 
Shad, alev., ^^^ other species of fish, that have since 
become ex xqxq. once common in its waters. 

In \']ob ->roposed by several towns along the 



v 



^ 



OUTLINE OF THE TOWN 7 

Stream to make a free passage for these fish up the 
river, but Dover did not concur with other towns in 
this measure. 

The sluggishness of the stream, which has become 
more and more marked, was noticeable as early as 1 740 ; 
and at one time an effort was made to clear the river 
of weeds. The quality of the meadow grass, which was 
for many years largely blue-joint and fowl grass, has 
deteriorated until now it is almost worthless for feeding 
purposes. 

During the last decade malaria, which was previously 
unknown in this region, has made its appearance, and is 
doubtless due to the increased acreage of low, wet land, 
caused by the sluggishness of the river. 

Dingle Hole Narrows is a rocky gorge in the bed 
of Charles River, between Dover and Sherborn. The 
place has picturesque surroundings, and is a favorite 
resort for campers out. The Boiling Springs, in the 
center of the town, are of great interest ; and the 
stranger who visits them for the first time is almost 
certain to inquire if the water is hot. 

Nim rod's Rock, a granite boulder of curious forma- 
tion, may have received its name from the mighty 
hunter of Bible story. 

Charles River is crossed by five bridges, all of which 
have been built in joint ownership with adjoining towns. 
These bridges all bear the names of individuals or local- 
ities. Farm Bridge was named for the Dedham posses- 
sions across the river in Sherborn, known for many 
years as "The Farms." This bridge was built some 
time in 1600, and was possibly standing at thf^ 
King Philip's War. Day's Bridge was nar 



8 HISTORY OF DOVER 

Day family, who were among the early settlers in 
Dover. Wight's Bridge, the abutments of which are 
still standing, was built by Hezekiah and Leonard 
Morse, of Sherborn, about 1820, and for many years 
was used by the people in the neighborhood. 

Newell's Bridge at Charles River Village was named 
for Josiah Newell, the founder of the rolling-mills ; 
while Fisher's Bridge on Center Street was named for 
Mr. Fisher, a prominent resident of Needham. Baker's 
Bridge on Dover Street received its name in honor of 
Mr. Baker, of Needham, who owned a large estate in 
the vicinity. 

Henry Goulding built a pontoon bridge across 
Charles River, to connect his farm with that of his 
brother on the Sherborn side. This bridge was used 
for some years, but was taken up soon after the death 
of Mr. Goulding, in 1884. 

Our well-maintained highways aggregate some thirty- 
four miles in length, extending from east to west and 
from north to south. They furnish easy means of com- 
munication with different sections of the town and 
surrounding country ; while many winding and shady 
streets intersect the main highways at different points, 
and furnish favorite drives for the residents of this and 
the surrounding towns. 

Stretching across the parish in the early time were 
two highways, both leading to the Indian village at 
Natick, and built soon after the beginning of Mr. Eliot's 
enterprise in 1650. One of these roads, at first but a 
bridle-path, extended from Dedham over Strawberry 
' ^g Clay Brook and Charles River. Another 
enced at Medfield, and wound round by 



OUTLINE OF THE TOWN 9 

Pegan Hill to the same Indian settlement. The name 
of the parish is significant, and appears in the earliest 
transfers of real-estate. 

Near the center of the parish are numerous springs, 
which boil up from the earth — a pure white sand. 
These springs furnish a never-failing water supply, warm 
in winter and cold in summer. It is estimated by com- 
petent judges that there are more than forty never-fail- 
ing springs, from which flows a constant supply of 
purest water. Nearly all the buildings in the vicinity 
of Pegan Hill are supplied with water which gushes 
out from the hillsides. Hence the name " Springfield," 
which the Dedham settlers so soon applied to the 
territory. 

Perhaps no part of the original territory of Dedham 
is more closely associated with the life of the Indian 
than this parish. At least three tribes of Indians occu- 
pied this soil. The site of the wigwam of the Wisset 
tribe seventy-five years ago could be traced near the 
house of William Neal on Hartford Street. The Po- 
wisset tribe lived in the vicinity of Bernhardt Post's 
farm, which bears their name. The Pegan tribe owned 
and occupied Pegan Hill and the surrounding country. 
Some of the last members of this tribe built a house 
which was located on the Natick side of the boundary 
line, the cellar of which is still traceable. Thomas 
Pegan was the last owner of this house. 

Noanet was an Indian chief, who occupied with his 
fellows the land in the easterly part of the town. He 
seems to have lived in 1664 on the north side of 
Charles River, as the Dedham records refer to the 
granting of land to Joseph Kingsbury in the following 



lo HISTORY OF DOVER 

words : " To be laid out upon the north side of Charles 
River over against Noannet's \sic\ wigwam." 

We gather in summer-time flowers planted by the 
hand of the red man, and it is not many years since 
fields could be traced where the Indian grew his maize. 
Stone implements, such as arrow-heads and pestles, are 
found on the plain-lands. The Indian names Pegan, 
Powisset, Noanet, are given to hill and plain and 
stream, and remain in memory of those who first owned 
this land. Eliot described the territory south of 
Charles River as "a peculiar hunting-place" of the 
Indians. 

Long years after the land had been occupied by the 
white man, in the beautiful days of the Indian summer, 
red men made long pilgrimages to the plain of Powis- 
set, where they visited the graves of their fathers, to be 
there inspired with new strength and courage. A small 
remnant of Natick Indians remained as late as 1835, 
who roamed over town, selling baskets and begging, 
wherever they went, a drink of cider. 

Although the Indians were near neighbors to the 
early settlers, it is believed they lived in peace and 
harmony, as there is no record of any controversy with 
them. They were greatly reduced in numbers by the 
ravages of small-pox in 1633, just before the Dedham 
settlement, and were never again numerous in the im- 
mediate vicinity. Roaming Indians, however, were at 
first a frequent menace ; and a fortification was built in 
the westerly part of the town, not far from the road 
leading from Medfield to Natick, which was standing at 
the beginning of the present century. It was made 
bullet-proof by layers of brick between the outer and 



OUTLINE OF THE TOWN il 

inner walls, which were made of thick white-oak plank ; 
while its small windows helped to make it defensible. 

In the early time Hannah Baker, fearing an attack 
from the Indians, fled to a swamp in the easterly part 
of the town, and there remained during the night with 
her two children. 

It is said that those who occupied the old fortification 
heard one night a sound like the noise of pigs escaping 
from the sty. The first impulse was to rush out ; but 
upon reflection a musket was taken down, and fired in 
the direction of the sty. A shriek revealed the fact 
that it was a trick of the wily Indians to call the in- 
mates out. The next morning their trail was traced 
for some distance by drops of blood on the ground. 

Some of the Indians practised the healing art ; and 
Hannah Dexter, who lived on the west side of Pegan 
Hill, was much celebrated as an Indian doctor. She 
possessed much skill in the use of roots and herbs, and 
English people often came long distances to consult 
her. The flora of the town is exceptionally rich, owing, 
doubtless, to the great diversity of soil. An additional 
reason may be found in the fact that the territory was 
so long occupied by Indians, who cultivated a large 
number of medicinal plants. 

At first cattle, and especially hogs, were allowed to 
run at large by vote of the inhabitants ; but in 1 794 
the people seem to have somewhat tired of the practice, 
and at their March meeting voted " that the hogs to be 
shot up." In the early settlement of the territory wild 
animals were a real danger, and several places are still 
pointed out where bears were killed. Wild-cats and 
wolves inhabited the forests for many years, and killed 



12 HISTORY OF DOVER 

young animals. The town of Dedham paid a bounty of 
ten shillings a head for wolves killed by the inhabitants 
as late as 1716, and one pound a head for all wild-cats 
in 1734. Rattlesnakes were troublesome until 1764, 
and are still found among the ledges of Cedar and 
Oak Hills. Dedham at one time paid a bounty of six 
pence for " an inch and a halfe of the end of a rattle- 
snake's tail with the rattle." The beaver lived here, 
and a spot in the easterly part of the town is known as 
Beaver Dam. Within the memory of living men this 
dam was very distinct in its outline, and was the unmis- 
takable work of this intelligent and cunning animal. 
Otter Brook, which has its source in Dover, was so 
named because the otter frequented its waters. It is 
related of Henry Wilson that the first night he slept in 
his log house on Strawberry Hill he awoke in the morn- 
ing to see a wild-cat looking in at the window. 

Dover, in its situation, pure air, pure water, and cli- 
mate, modified by a large acreage of pine wood-land, is 
a very healthy place of residence. Exact records kept 
by the Rev. Dr. Sanger during his residence here of 
forty years show that one in every twenty-four reached 
the advanced age of ninety years and upwards. Of the 
three hundred and fourteen deaths which occurred in 
the first forty years of Mr. Sanger's ministry, thirty-six 
were infants under one year, forty-five were over one 
year of age and under ten, twenty were between ten 
and twenty years, fifty-six were between twenty and 
fifty years, and one hundred and fifty-seven were be- 
tween fifty and ninety-eight years. Thirteen were above 
the age of ninety, two were ninety-five, and one was 
ninety-eight. 



OUTLINE OF THE TOWN 13 

Dover, with its varied surface, contains eight thousand 
seven hundred acres of land, which inckides several hun- 
dred acres of waste land and about one hundred and fifty- 
acres laid out in roads. 

Although this has always been an agricultural district, 
the character of the farming has greatly changed in the 
last quarter of a century. For many years after its 
settlement the people were largely engaged in preparing 
ship-timber, cutting wood, and burning charcoal, all of 
which found a ready sale in Boston. This business 
demanded much transportation, and men were con- 
stantly on the road with their ox-teams. Dover Street 
in Boston was named for this town. It is said the 
name was given to this particular street because the 
Dover farmers " put up " over night at a tavern located 
near the junction of Dover and Washington Streets. 

In the cultivation of crops, potatoes were not at first 
raised as human food, cereals being the staples. In 
England the potato was held to be a native of Virginia. 
Modern opinion holds that it is indigenous to some parts 
of South America, Mexico, and the southwestern United 
States, and that it was brought to Virginia by the early 
Spanish explorers. In its cultivation the potato has 
been greatly improved within fifty years ; and the big, 
mealy potatoes of to-day are quite different from the 
watery tuber of our grandfathers. The farming to-day 
is more largely devoted to the production of milk and 
to market-gardening. 

Dover was the seventh town whose territory was 
wholly a part of Dedham to be set off from the mother 
town. Its bounds, with the exception of a slight change 
made in the line between Dover and Walpole in 1872, 



14 HISTORY OF DOVER 

are the same as those defined in the petition of the 
inhabitants to be made a distinct precinct in 1728. 
These bounds are as follows : — 

Beginning at Bubbling Brook where it crosses Medfield road, 
and thence taking in the lands of Samuel Chickering, and from 
thence to the westerly end of Nathaniel Richards's house-lot, and 
so down to Charles River, with all the lands westerly of said line. 

This land was a part of the territory owned by the 
Sachem Wompituk (whose daughter Chicatabut mar- 
ried) and, soon after the landing of Winthrop, sold to 
William Pyncham. 

The territory comprising this town was included in 
the grant made by the Crown to the Massachusetts 
Bay Colony in 1628. The question is often asked why 
the bounds of Natick extended across Charles River to 
the summit of Pegan Hill on the east. When, in 1650, 
the Apostle Eliot commenced his Indian settlement at 
Natick, he laid out a village on both sides of Charles 
River, which was fenced and planted to orchards and 
cornfields. The village was stockaded, with two long 
streets on either side of the river, crossed by a bridge 
which the Indians built themselves. They were divided 
into families and encouraged to live in separate rooms. 
In 165 1 Dedham made a grant to Natick of two thou- 
sand acres on the north side of Charles River on the 
condition that " the Indians should Lay doune all other 
Clames of any land within the towne bounds, and for- 
bere setting of traps, etc." Nevertheless, they con- 
tinued to improve the land on the south side of the 
river ; and when, a few years later, operations were 
begun to build a mill, the town protested. Mr. Eliot 



OUTLINE OF THE TOWN 15 

tried to satisfy them " by offering forty pounds' worth of 
boards which he expected to cutt at his mill," but the 
town would not accept his offer. 

Mr. Eliot desired to take, as a part of the grant of two 
thousand acres, land on the south side of Charles River 
to extend as far as the brook. This the town of Ded- 
ham opposed, as the land " was the fittest place to turne 
of horsses and loose Cattell that the Towne had." 
These difficulties led to a long controversy. The 
Indians continued to improve the land which would 
now be included in the territory of Dover if Charles 
River formed the boundary between the two towns. 

Mr. Eliot, in his labors to furnish the means of 
Christian living among the Indians, was strenuous in 
his efforts for the permanent establishment of the 
settlement on both sides of Charles River. 

After some years Dedham entered a suit for the 
recovery of the land or satisfaction in five hundred 
pounds sterling. A compromise was finally effected, by 
which the Indians retained the land, and Dedham re- 
ceived a grant of eight thousand acres at what is now 
Deerfield. In 1797 the territory south of Charles 
River was annexed to Dover for parochial purposes, 
under the following article in the warrant : " To see if 
the District will receive the inhabitants, buildings, and 
land in Natick, lying south of Charles River, agreeable 
to a petition in the hands of the Selectmen." In the 
granting of this petition Elijah Perry, Enoch Draper, 
William Morse, and Asa Bacon were set to Dover, and 
remained members of the parish for many years. 

Dover has a population of six hundred and sixty-eight. 
Until recent years its families were largely descended 



1 6 HISTORY OF DOVER 

from native stock. In its date of incorporation, July 7, 
1784, Dover ranks as the two hundred and fortieth 
town in the Commonwealth. 

A seal was adopted by the town April 30, 1894. 
Every part of it has special significance. 

The central figure is a plain two-story meeting-house, 
without chimney or steeple, which is drawn in the exact 
architectural proportions of the first meeting-house. 
This figure is made prominent because the desire of 
the early inhabitants to worship among themselves led 
to the incorporation of the parish and final separation 
from the town of Dedham. 

As a special appropriation was made for the purchase 
of stone steps for the meeting-house, they appear in 
the design, together with the "horse-block," which was 
so indispensable, as late as 18 10, that it was retained 
by the parish after the destruction of their meeting- 
house and the purchase of a new parish lot. 

The schoolhouse, erected just beside the meeting- 
house in 1762, and used for many years as a "noon 
house," is shown at the left, with smoke rising from the 
chimney. The stream of water represents Trout Brook, 
which has its source in the beautiful boiling springs, and 
signifies " Springfield," the name given to this territory 
by the early Dedham settlers. 

The presence of Indians in the seal commemorates 
the fact that this was once their stamping-ground, 
and hill and plain and street bear to this day Indian 
names. 

Only a part of the noble Pegan Hill, not showing its 
full height, appears on the seal, thus indicating that it is 
not wholly within the limits of the town. The elevation 



OUTLINE OF THE TOWN 17 

at the left represents Pine Rock Hill, which has an 
elevation of four hundred and forty-nine feet. The 
leading industry of the people is characterized by the 
plough and sheaf of grain resting upon the shield. 

The incorporated name of the town appears on the 
outer circle, while the date of its incorporation is borne 
on the scroll. The outer circle shows the evolution of 
the town by noting separately the date of the incor- 
poration of the parish and of the district. 

Mr. Henry E. Woods has rendered the seal in the 
following heraldic language : Upon a field showing on 
the dexter side a schoolhouse and brook, and on the 
sinister side a hill and Indians, an escutcheon bearing : 
azure on a mount vert a meeting-house, without steeple, 
proper ; crest, a plough and garb, crosswise, proper ; 
motto, "Incorporated 1836," surrounded by a circle 
inscribed in chief "Town of Dover," and in base 
"Massachusetts," divided on the dexter side by "Parish 
1748 " and the sinister side by " District 1784." 

The streets of Dover were named by the selectmen, 
and accepted by the town in 1877. The names of 
some of our streets should be changed for appropriate 
names which have special historical significance. Soon 
after the granting of land in 1650 to the Natick Indians, 
a road was extended from Dedham to the Indian settle- 
ment. Along this road where it skirts Charles River 
the early settlers found an abundance of clay, and from 
time immemorial it has been called " Clay Brook Road." 
In the naming of the streets this exceedingly appropriate 
name was dropped for "Charles River Street," a name 
which Needham has given to a parallel street on the 
opposite side of the Charles River. 



1 8 HISTORY OF DOVER 

Early in the history of Massachusetts a grant of 
several hundred acres of land was made in what is now 
Sherborn, and was called "The Farms," hence the names 
Farm Lake, Farm School, Farm Bridge. Obviously, 
" Farm Street " should extend from Medfield line to the 
center of Farm Bridge and not to Springdale Avenue. 

Willow Street, which extends from Charles River 
Village to Dedham Street, near the house of Cornelius 
Sullivan, was laid out in February, 1802, and called in 
the records " Mill Road " ; while the present Mill Street 
was built in 1 797, and was called the " Old Grant 
Road," because of the right of highway given in the 
conveyance. 

The names and locations of the streets are as fol- 
lows : — 

Farm Street, from Medfield line to Springdale Park. 

Smith Street, from Farm Street to F. A. Parmenter's. 

Bridge Street, from Farm Street to Sherborn line. 

Wight Street, from Farm Street to McGill Brothers'. 

Glen Street, from Farm Street to Natick line. 

Main Street, from Springdale Park to Dover Street. 

Center Street, from Fisher's Bridge to Medfield line. 

Springdale Avenue, from Springdale Park to Center 
Street. 

County Street, between Walpole and Dover. 

Walpole Street, from Center Street to County Street, 

Pine Street, from Center Street to Medfield line. 

Hartford Street, the old Hartford turnpike. 

Powisset Street, from Walpole Street to Dedham line. 

Dedham Street, from Springdale Avenue to Dedham, 
near Day's Bridge. 

Wilsondale Street, from Strawberry Hill Street to 
Dedham line. 



OUTLINE OF THE TOWN 19 

Strawberry Hill Street, from Dedham Street to Lar- 
rabee estate. 

Chestnut Street, from Dedham Street to Needham 
line. 

Willow Street, from Dedham Street to Newell's 
Bridge. 

Mill Street, from Dedham Street to Willow Street. 

Cross Street, from Dedham Street to Center Street. 

Charles River Street, from Center Street to Natick 
line. 

Dover Street, from Baker's Bridge to Natick line. 

Pleasant Street, from Main Street to Natick line. 

Haven Street, from Main Street to Dedham Street. 

Church Street, from Haven Street to Springdale 
Avenue. 

Began Street, from Springdale Park to M. E. Nawn's. 



CHAPTER II. 

THE BEGINNING OF PARISH LIFE. 

Fourth Precinct of Dedham — Character of the People 
— Early Settlers in Dover — -Henry Wilson — 
Thomas Battle — Nathaniel Chickering — James 
Draper — Old Fortification — First Effort to be 
made a Precinct — First Tax List — Petition to the 
General Court and Signers — Organization of the 
Precinct and Election of Officers. 

The great, eventful Present hides the Past ; but through the din 
Of its loud life hints and echoes from the life behind steal in ; 
And the lore of home and fireside, and the legendary rhyme, 
Make the task of duty lighter which the true man owes his time. 

— Whittier. 

As the history of Dover is interwoven with the his- 
tory of Dedham, it is most difficult to give with cer- 
tainty much that one desires to know about the early 
settlement and life of the people of this town. In its 
incorporate capacity it was styled the Fourth Precinct 
of Dedham ; but with the organization of the church it 
became the Fourth, or Springfield, Parish. The pro- 
genitors of most of the early Dover families were among 
the first settlers in Dedham ; and we proudly claim the 
history of the mother town as a part of our own history, 
in ecclesiastical affairs previous to 1729 and in all town 
affairs before 1784. 

" The first settlers of Dedham were a remarkable col- 
lection of people. Tradition brings down a high char- 
acter attached to most of the names found on its early 



THE BEGINNING OE PARISH LIFE 2 1 

records, and their public and private acts fully confirm 
it. Orderly and industrious in their habits, they al- 
lowed no one to remain in their community who was 
not engaged in some regular occupation. Any violation 
of rules was followed by a penalty, yet the most e.xact 
strictness was accompanied by equally unfailing loving- 
kindness. Liberal were they towards each other and 
their neighbors, and public-spirited, too. Thrifty were 
they, husbanding both public and private resources with 
great economy and industry. Above all, they i:)ursued 
a liberal and enlightened policy in matters of religion. 
In such a sound and sensible community we find, as 
might be expected, no persecution, no witches, no super- 
natural occurrences. The plantation went on regularly, 
advancing in population and wealth." There is, how- 
ever, much of interest to the inhabitants of the Spring- 
field Parish that can never be given in the history of 
Dedham. It is found in the record of the faithful lives, 
the labors, the fortitude, and the patriotism of those 
who settled here and made for themselves and their 
posterity a home, a school, a church, and cleared the 
farms that, in not a few instances, have now been tilled 
by descendants for more than two centuries. Owing to 
the danger of attacks from Indians, it is generally held 
that settlements were not made outside of the village of 
Dedham previous to King Philip's War. The fact that 
the town voted in 1682 that none should move to a 
greater distance than two miles from the meeting-house 
without a special license indicates that some of the in- 
habitants had done so. The colonial law that all should 
build in the immediate vicinity of the meeting-house 
early became obsolete, as such close proximity to one 



2 2 II IS TORY OF DOVER 

another was not favorable to agricultural pursuits. 
Water must be had in good supply, pastiu-age for cat- 
tle, and an abundance of firewood. To gain these 
requisites it is believed that settlements were made 
outside of the village of Dedham. Dover was not 
generally settled, however, until early in 1700, although 
settlements were made in different parts of the territory 
much earlier. In many instances there seem to have 
been no instruments of conveyance, and consequently 
no records were made. 

Henry Wilson, who came from Kent, England, and 
settled in Dedham in 1640, was granted land with other 
settlers, but never built upon it. It is believed that he 
immediately settled on the farm now occupied by his 
lineal descendant, Ephraim W^ilson, in the easterly part 
of the town, near the Dedham line. He was the first 
settler within the limits of Dover. His house was on 
the path which led to the common pasture-grounds in 
the vicinity of Powisset. He married, and brought his 
wife to the settlement ; and here their first child, 
Michael Wilson, was born in 1644. 

Thomas Battle was probably the first settler west of 
Strawberry Hill. He had acquired land in the westerly 
part of Dedham either by grant or purchase, as in 1681 
he sold to James Draper eighty-four acres of land near 
Medfield. In 1683 Thomas Battle had a grant of "10 
acres i rood of land on ye west side of Great Brook." 
It has long been a tradition that the first settlement 
west of Strawberry Hill was made by Mr. Battle on the 
Clay Brook Road. The site of his house is still pointed 
out near the picnic grounds of B. N. Sawin, not far from 
the Natick line. He had another grant (1687-95), 



THE BEG/iVsVING OF PARISH LIFE 23 

which is very definite, and locates his previous grant, as 
follows : " Granted to Thomas Battle half an acre of 
upland and meadow bottom as it lieth his own land near 
the Great Brook, near Natick, bounded by his own land 
southeast the way to the brook, and by the brook in all 
other parts." Thomas Battle was one of the selectmen 
of Dedham, and associated on the board with Nathaniel 
Chickering, who settled here in 1694. Nathaniel Chick- 
ering was born in 1647. He came to this country from 
Wrentham, England, where his mother lived in 1681. 
He settled in Dover in 1694, having gained through 
grants and purchase a thousand acres of land, which 
extended from the Clay Brook Road southward includ- 
ing Powisset and eastward as far as the farm now 
owned by Charles J. Spear. 

He built a house on the site of the homestead now oc- 
cupied by George Ellis Chickering. He died in 1694, 
and did not occupy the house with his family ; but it 
was taken possession of by his widow and his children. 

James Draper, of Roxbury, purchased land of Thomas 
Battle in 1682, which was bounded "on the north by 
Natick and on the south by Medfield." This was the 
original Draper place in Dover, and was occupied by 
John, son of James Draper, who took a wife in 1686, 
and probably settled here at that time. Medfield, which 
was settled in 1650, had a road which led from Med- 
field to Dedham. This highway was extended north- 
ward, and was continued across the Dover territory as 
far as the Indian village at South Natick. Settlements 
were soon made in Medfield on this road. The Allen 
farm was settled m 1673 ; and about 1657 Daniel 
Morse, of Medfield, went still farther and purchased a 



24 IIJSTORY OF DOVER 

tract of eight hundred acres of land across Charles River, 
in what is now Sherborn, and settled there in 1658 
with his family. The site of the homestead was about 
half a mile west of I'arm Bridge. 

Not far from the Natick road, on the high land over- 
looking Charles River, south of Farm Bridge, was built 
the old fortification already referred to. It is supposed 
to have been built at an early time, as settlements had 
been made in the vicinity, both in Medfield and Sher- 
born. The fortification was removed by the writer's 
grandfather early in 1800, but its history is not known. 
About 1725 there was a general feeling among those 
who had settled at a distance from the center of the 
town that they should be freed from the minister tax at 
Dedham and allowed to build meeting-houses of their 
own, where they could more conveniently worship. This 
spirit is seen in the petition of the inhabitants of Clap- 
boardtrees Parish (West Dedham) in 1721 and that of 
Tiot (Norwood) in 1726 to be made precincts. 

A feeling of discontent manifested itself in the west- 
erly part of Dedham (Springfield) in 1728, when, on 
the 3d of March, the inhabitants petitioned "that they 
and their estates might be set off into a distinct pre- 
cinct." This request was granted by the town Novem- 
ber 9, 1729. 

Having been made a precinct by the town, it was 
their ambition to be made a distinct precinct by the 
General Court, that they might be freed from the minis- 
terial tax at Dedham and be vested with greater powers 
and privileges. A petition, headed by Jonathan Battle, 
was presented to the General Court November 19, 
1729, asking to be made a distinct precinct by that 



THE BEGINNING OF PARISH LIFE 25 

body. This request was referred to a committee, who 
reported December 2, 1729, that they and their estate 
be freed from paying the minister rate in Dedham, and 
that Samuel Chickering and twelve others should attend 
the church in Medfield, Ralph Day and four others 
the church at Needham, and Eleazer Ellis and thirteen 
others the church at Natick. This report was accepted 
by the General Court, and they were ordered to pay 
their ministerial tax to the several ministers of the 
other towns where they attended public worship ; and 
this they continued to do for many years. 

This was the first step in the evolution of the town of 
Dover towards the permanent establishment of a govern- 
ment at home, where the people could carry out among 
themselves the true New England spirit, in the main- 
tenance of the church, the school, and the town meet- 
ing in the midst of their homes. These institutions 
formed for many years " the whole of life, with its duties, 
its training, its pleasures, and its hopes." 

Nathaniel Chickering became a deacon in the church 
at South Natick, Joshua Ellis at Needham, while Na- 
thaniel Wilson held the same office in the church at 
Dedham. Neither the petition to the town of Dedham 
nor that made to the General Court has been preserved, 
consequently it is impossible to give a complete list of 
early inhabitants ; but it is evident from the apportion- 
ment made by the General Court that there were thirty- 
three ' families in 1729. Fortunately we have the first 
tax-list of the Springfield Precinct, which was made 
in May, 1732, the names on it probably not differing 
very much from those signed to the petition four years 

' The Wilson family attended church at Dedham. 



26 



HISTORY OF DOVER 



previous to be made a precinct, except it may contain 
the names of some non-residents. The tax-list is as 

follows : — 



Aaron Allen. 
Benjamin Allen. 
Eleazer Allen. 
Hezekiah Allen. 
Moses Allen. 
Jonathan Battle. 
Jonathan Battle, Jr. 
Nathaniel Battle. 
Widow Battle. 
John Bacon. 
Michael Bacon. 
John BuUard. 
Jonathan Bullard. 
Jonathan Ellis. 
James Ellis. 
John Fisher. 
Joshua Fisher. 



Widow Jonathan Cay. 
Abraham Harding. 
Ebenezer Knapp. 
Samuel Leach. 
Joseph Merrifield. 
Nathaniel Bullard. 
John Bullin. 
Eliphalet Chickering. 
Nathaniel Chickering. 
Samuel Chickering. 
John Draper. 
John Draper, Jr. 
Josej^h Draper. 
Ralph Day. 
Benjamin Ellis. 
Caleb Ellis. 
Eleazer Ellis. 



Thomas Mason. 
David Morse. 
Nathaniel Morse. 
Mattis Ockinson. 
Jonathan Plimpton. 
Ebenezer Robinson. 
John Rice. 
Ephraim Ware, Jr. 
Jonathan Whiting. 
David Wight. 
Ebenezer Mason. 
Jonathan Mason. 
Seth Mason. 
Seth Mason, Jr. 
Ephraim Wight. 
Samuel Wight. 
Nathaniel Wilson. 



For twenty years the people were gontent to worship 
in other towns, but it was the earnest desire of most of 
them to have a meeting-house of their own and to settle 
a minister. 

In 1747 the residents renewed their appeal to the 
General Court to be made a distinct precinct, but their 
efforts met with opposition from some of those who 
attended church at Medfield and South Natick. The 
following persons persisted in their opposition, and sent 
a petition in remonstrance to the General Court in 
April, 1 748 : Michael Bacon, Nathaniel Battle, Eleazer 
Allen, Aaron Allen, Josiah Fisher, Ephraim Bacon, 
John Jones, Eleazer Allen, Jr., and Timothy Guy. 



THE BEGINNING OE PARISH LIEE 27 

Later in the year 1748, having won some over from 
the opposition, they renewed their appeal to the General 
Court in the following petition : — 

To his Excellency, William Shirley, Esq., General and (iovernor- 
in-chief in and over his Majesty's Province of Massachusetts 
Bay in New England ; to the Honorable his Majesty's Coun- 
cil and House of Representatives, now sitting, April 5, i 74S : 

The petition of the westerly part of Dedhani humbly showeth 
That, whereas your petitioners presented a petition at a legal 
town meeting in Dedham, March 3, 1 72S, praying that we and 
our estates might be set off into a distinct precinct with the fol- 
lowing bounds, — -namely, beginning at Bubbling Brook, where it 
crosses Medfield road, and from thence taking in the lands of 
Samuel Chickering, and from thence to the westerly end of Na- 
thaniel Richards's house lot and so down to Charles River, with 
all the lands and inhabitants westerly of said line, which was 
granted and voted at said meeting November 19, 1729, — 

We presented a petition to the Great and General Court, pray- 
ing to be set off and be made a distinct precinct with the above 
mentioned bounds. Said petition was committed to a committee, 
who reported that we with our estates should be freed from pay- 
ing to the minister rate of Dedham during the pleasure of the 
Honorable Court, and ordered us to pay our ministerial taxes to 
the several ministers of the other towns where we attended public 
worship. And said report was accepted by said Court, and we 
have to this day cheerfully and thankfully complied therewith. 
But, being sensible of the great difficulty we labor under in 
attending public worship iii the respective places where we have 
enjoyed the same these many years, and considering with what 
ease and comfort we can meet together among ourselves, pro- 
vided we were vested with parish privileges, we, thinking ourselves 
through the divine blessing in some good measure able to build 
a meeting-house and support a minister, we therefore humbly pray 
your Excellency and Honors to take our case into your wise con- 
sideration and free us from any further charge in those places 
where we were ordered to pay, and grant that the lands and in- 



28 



HISTORY OF DOVER 



habitants to the westward of the above mentioned line in Ded- 
ham be set off into a distinct precinct ; and your petitioners, as in 
dutv l)ound, shall ever pray. 

Samuel Metcalf. 
Joshua Ellis. 
Hezekiah Allen, Jr. 
Ebenezer Newell. 
Thomas Merrifield. 
Jonathan Battle. 
Ralph Day. 
John Draper. 
Samuel CHiCKERiN(i. 
JosiAH Ellis. 
Jonathan Day. 
Nathaniel Wilson. 
Ezra Gay. 
Timothy Ellis. 
Thomas Battle. 
Jonathan Bullard. 
Thomas Richards. 

Dkdham, March 30, 1748. 



Seth Mason. 
Joseph Chickering. 
Eliphalet Chickering. 
Jabez Wood. 
Oliver Bacon. 
John Bacon. 
Joseph Draper. 
Benjamin Ellis. 
David Wight. 
John Cheney. 
John Chickering. 
John Battle. 
JosiAH Richards. 
Jonathan Whiting. 
Daniel Chickering. 
John Griggs. 
Abraham Chamberlain. 



This petition was presented to the General Court 
April 5, 1748, and was granted November 18, 1748, 
giving the powers and privileges which precincts could 
enjoy. The first precinct meeting was held in the 
schoolhousc January 4, 1749, to elect a clerk and 
precinct committee to call parish meetings. Joshua 
Ellis was chosen moderator, also precinct clerk. The 
following precinct committee was chosen : Joshua Ellis, 
Joseph Chickering, Joseph Draper, Samuel Chickering, 
and Samuel Metcalf. At a meeting held March 15, 
1749, Jonathan Whiting was chosen precinct treasurer. 
This was the first Dover March meeting, an institution 
which has come down unbroken to the present time. 



CHAPTER III. 

BUILDING THE MEETING-HOUSE. 

Building Committee — Dimensions of the Meeting-house 
— Site — Committee on the Site — Report of the 
Committee — Description of the Accepted Site — 
Meeting-house, when raised — Dedication — Com- 
mittee ON Seating the Meeting-house — ^ Seats for 
Young Men, Young Women, Boys — Seats, how- 
dignified. 

The groves were God's first temples. Ere man learned 

To hew the shaft and lay the architrave 

And spread the roof above them, ere he framed 

The lofty vault, to gather and roll back 

The sound of anthems, in the darkling wood. 

Amid the cool and silence, he knelt down 

And offered to the Mightiest solemn thanks 

And supplication. 

— Brv.\n T. 

At the precinct-meeting held March 15, 1749, the 
following committee was chosen to prepare timber for 
a meeting-house : Capt. Hezekiah Allen, Joseph Draper, 
Samuel Metcalf, Daniel Chickering, and Jonathan Day. 
The chairman. Captain Allen, was a carpenter by trade. 
The committee were instructed to build a meeting-house 
"forty-two feet long, thirty-four feet wide, and twenty 
feet high from the top of y^ eel to y^ top of y^ plate " ; 
and when completed it was a building of the plainest 
style of Puritan architecture, without steeple, chimney, 
or ornamentation, and " no church-bell lent its Christian 
tone." It was always called "the meeting-house" ; for 
this plain people, like Cotton Mather, "found no just 



3° 



HISTORY OF DOVER 



-round in Scripture to apply such a trope as church 
to a house for public assembly." The work of building 
was retarded on account of much wrangling over a 
site, h'rom the very first there was a difference of 
()[)inion as to the best location for the new meeting- 
house ; and, previous to the first precinct meeting called 
to consider the subject, a majority of the voters signed 
a statement, under date of March 7, 1747-48, favoring 
the appointment of an impartial committee from other 
towns, who should be invited to select a site for the 
meeting-house. An early survey of the territory was 
made by vote of the precinct, to ascertain the exact 
center of the parish. 

The plan of the survey was not preserved ; but it 
was made within the present limits of the town, which 
have been but slightly changed since the establish- 
ment of bounds by the General Court in 1729. There 
was a strong feeling against locating the meeting- 
house in the exact center of the precinct ; and, with 
an apparent desire to conciliate all parties, the par- 
ish very early voted not to build in the center of 
the precinct from its extreme points. At a precinct- 
meeting March 24, 1748-49, an effort was made to 
select a site for the meeting-house. Two propositions 
were made, — one to build on the hill near Morse's 
swamp (supposed to be near the house of Joseph 
Chickering), and the other on the hill south of John 
Battle's, which would be near the present site of the 
Baptist chapel. 

The meeting was adjourned in the morning, in order 
to give the voters an opportunity to view the two sites ; 
and, reassembling in the afternoon, a motion was made 



BUILDIXG THE MEETING-HOUSE 31 

to build on the hill south of J\Ir. Battle's. The vote, 
by instruction of the moderator, was counted by the 
poll, and resulted in a tie vote. 

The precinct then voted to leave the selection of the 
site to the following committee, all of whom were resi- 
dents of other towns : Thomas Greenwood, Esq., New- 
ton, chairman ; Capt. Joseph Williams, Roxbury ; Dea. 
Joseph Hewins, Stoughton ; Capt. Elkanah Billings, 
Dorchester ; Capt. Joseph Ware, Sherborn. The ex- 
treme carefulness of the people and their desire to have 
the question intelligently considered and judiciously set- 
tled is shown in the selection of the committee, which 
was made up of men distinguished for character and 
ability in the whole region around. 

Thomas Greenwood, Esq., was made chairman by the 
precinct. Mr. Greenwood was a man of much promi- 
nence in Newton, which he represented in the General 
Court for thirteen years, and was town-clerk for twenty- 
three years, besides holding many other offices and 
positions of honor and responsibility. 

Capt. Joseph Williams was a prominent man of his 
time, and was much noted and esteemed by the citizens 
of Roxbury. 

Capt. Joseph Ware was the founder of the Ware 
family in Sherborn, and was a man very active in town 
affairs, being a member of the board of selectmen for 
many years. One acquainted with the men of Sher- 
born says, " He should be long and gratefully remem- 
bered as one of the most exemplary and useful citizens 
Sherborn has ever had." 

Dea. Joseph Hewins, of Stoughton, now Sharon, 
was a leading citizen of that town, being town-clerk. 



32 HISTORY OF DOVER 

treasurer, and selectman for many years. He was 
deacon of the Second Church, a magistrate from the 
incorporation of the town, and empowered by the Gen- 
eral Court to issue his warrant for the first Sharon 
town-meeting. 

Capt. Elkanah Billings was a prominent man, and 
was born and lived in that part of Dorchester which 
afterwards became Sharon. 

The following residents of the precinct were chosen 
to wait on the committee and present the facts and 
arguments of contending parties : Capt. Hezekiah 
Allen, John Jones, Samuel Chickering, Joshua Ellis, 
John Battle, and Benjamin Ellis. The committee met 
on the 6th of April, 1 749, and, after viewing the differ- 
ent localities and holding a deliberative meeting, unani- 
mously voted to recommend as a site the hill east of 
Trout Brook. 

After much debate this report was accepted by the 
precinct, and the building committee was instructed to 
proceed with the building of the new meeting-house 
on the spot recommended by the committee. But the 
acceptance of the site did not end the matter, as a 
majority of the residents felt that a different spot 
should have been selected. At a precinct-meeting held 
February 8, 1749-50, it was voted to invite the com- 
mittee chosen to select the site for the meeting-house 
to take the matter again under consideration. 

They had the good sense to vote at this time " that 
the place or spot of ground that the said committee 
pitch upon for our meeting-house shall be ye place for 
said house to be built." And, as ending the difficulty 
which had been to this scattered people a very severe 



BUILDING THE MEETIXG-HOUSE Zl 

one, we give the second report of this committee, which, 
hke the first, was unanimous. 

Dedham, February 17, 1749-50. 

We, the subscribers, being met pursuant to the desire of ye 
West Precinct in said Dedham, and having reviewed several 
spots of ground prepared and shown by tlie inhabitants of said 
precinct as the place most suitable to build their intended meet- 
ing-house upon, agreeable to vote of said precinct made February 
8, 1 749-50, and after a full hearing of the several persons and 
parties interested in and inhabitants of said precinct, they agree 
and determine as follows, namely : We are of the opinion that 
the same spot of ground that was formerly pitched upon, and re- 
ported unto by us, is the most suitable and convenient place for 
said house to be built upon, all the circumstances being consid- 
ered. All of which is humbly subscribed and determined by us, 
day and year first above mentioned. 

The building committee was instructed to proceed 
forthwith to build on the spot selected by the commit- 
tee. The lot selected for the meeting-house was of a 
triangular form, containing about an acre of land. The 
black oak tree, which stood near the Orthodox church 
until it was blown down in 1893, was the northern 
corner of this triangle ; and, as the only landmark re- 
maining, it is greatly to be regretted that it has been 
removed. 

" What landmark so congenial as a tree. 
Repeating its green legend every spring. 

And with a yearly ring 
Recording the fair seasons as they flee, — 

Type of our brief but still renewed mortality.'' " 

The meeting-house was placed on the line towards 
the west, facing north. The land was probably donated 
to the parish. There is no record of a purchase, al- 



34 HISTORY OF DOVER 

though a committee was chosen, which was authorized 
to buy a site if necessary. 

The church was raised August 30, 1750 ; and, as the 
Rev. Mr. Townsend, of Needham, records this fact, he 
probably conducted the public exercise. 

The work of building the meeting-house went on but 
slowly. The people were poor, and did not build their 
meeting-house with one appropriation or by contract, 
but by the labor of farmers busy with their work of 
planting or harvesting. This work was taken up when 
no farm work was pressing. There was no matured 
plan, and the minutest particulars in reference to the 
arrangement of the building were made by a vote of the 
precinct. Thus, in 1757, it was voted to have " an alley 
left in ye meeting-house from ye front doors to ye pulpit." 

The building was not lathed and plastered until the 
spring of 1758. 

Although the meeting-house was not fully finished 
until seven years afterwards, it was dedicated in the 
month of December, 1754. The sermon was preached 
by the Rev. Mr. Townsend, of Needham, from the 
words of the Psalmist, " The Lord loveth the gates of 
Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob." 

The aristocracy of the colonial life of New England 
was most fully manifested within the walls of the meet- 
ing-house in seating all of the inhabitants in accordance 
with their rank and position. The attention of the best 
citizens was directed to the definite arrangement of the 
congregation, and their best efforts often failed to sat- 
isfy the people. The social welfare of the parish was 
often disturbed by differences about apportionment of 
seats in the meeting-house. 



BUILDING THE MEETIXG-HOUSE 35 

Seats were erected on the first floor in 1758, which 
were at first but rude benches. Some of the influential 
famihes, however, occupied chairs ; but, as time went on 
and the people became able to complete their meeting- 
house, pews were built by the parish, and permission 
was given to prominent individuals to build others at 
their own expense, to be enjoyed by them until reim- 
bursed by the parish. 

The pews were very large, and square in form ; and 
by vote of the parish none were to be occupied by less 
than three families, and some were large enough to ac- 
commodate more. As there were seats on three sides, 
two-thirds of the occupants did not face the minister. 
King's Chapel, in Boston, which was built the year that 
the Dover church was organized, illustrates at present 
the old-fashioned square pew. The exclamation of a 
little girl who for the first time attended service in one 
of the old-fashioned meeting-houses gives a word-picture 
of its square pews : " What, must I be shut up in a 
closet and sit upon a shelf t " The uncushioned seats 
were hung on hinges and were turned up during the 
singing and the long prayer, when the people stood up 
for a change in the long service, to come down with 
a bang at its close. 

The pulpit, which was built by a separate appropria- 
tion in 1758, v/as high, and was approached by a flight 
of stairs. The sounding-board, which was then in uni- 
versal use, was suspended above the pulpit, and helped, 
as it has been said, to cultivate the imagination of the 
boys in their speculations as to what would happen to 
the minister if the chain should break. This building 
became a meeting-house in reality ; and, as soon as it 



36 HISTORY OF DOVER 

was completed, it was used for all public meetings. 
The first precinct-meeting was held in the meeting- 
house December 17, 1755. 

In 1759 it was voted to put galleries and stairs into 
the meeting-house, " to be finished in the most prudent 
and decent manner," and the galleries to be built with 
only common seats. In 1760 it was voted not to finish 
the galleries with seats behind, on account of the ex- 
pense ; but, when a subscription of £,6, 195-., 2d., was 
made towards the expense, it was unanimously voted. 
It was also voted that the seats in the body of the 
meeting-house should be widened and otherwise altered, 
and that pews should be built on the lower floor in all 
vacant places. 

There were galleries on three sides of the meeting- 
house. In 1776 the singers were given permission by 
vote of the parish to seat themselves as best suited for 
singing. They took the gallery in front of the pulpit, 
which was ever afterwards occupied by the choir. In 
1772 the people seemed to have remembered that "a 
merciful man is merciful to his beast," and Asa Mason 
and others were given permission to build horse-sheds 
within the bounds already established on the west side 
of the parish grounds. Stone steps were voted by the 
parish in 1773. 

What was the vexed question of seating the meeting- 
house, which was always coming up and never settled } 
It is well explained by Mr. Caulkins in his history of 
Norwich, Conn. : " When the meeting-house was fin- 
ished, a committee was appointed to dignify the seats 
and establish the rule for seating the people. Usually 
the square pew nearest the pulpit was first in dignity. 



BUILDING THE MEETING-HOUSE 37 

and next to this came the second pew and the first long 
seat in front of the pulpit. After this the dignity grad- 
ually diminished as the pews receded from the pulpit. 
If the house was furnished, as in some instances, with 
square pews on each side of the outer door, fronting the 
pulpit, these were equal to the second or third rank in 
dignity. The front seat in the gallery and the two 
highest pews in the side galleries were also seats of con- 
siderable dignity." 

The rules for seating were formed on an estimate of 
age, rank, office, estate, and aid furnished in building 
the house. These lists were occasionally revised, and 
the people reseated at intervals of three or four years. 
Frequent disputes and even long-continued feuds were 
caused by this perplexing business of seating a congre- 
gation according to rank and dignity. 

Nathaniel Battle, John Jones, Eleazer Allen, Dea. 
Ralph Day, Samuel Metcalf, Joseph Haven, and Heze- 
kiah Allen were appointed March i6, 1767, to perform 
the difficult task of "seating the meeting-house." 
These gentlemen were among the most prominent and 
influential people in the parish, for " to dignify seats " 
required much skill and sense of propriety. Our fathers 
were great respecters of persons, and very desirous that 
each person should occupy the seat in public worship to 
which his position entitled him. 

'• In the goodly house of worship, where in order due and fit, 
As by public vote directed, classed and ranked the people sit, 
Mistress first and good wife after, clerkly squire before the 

clown, 
From the brave coat, lace-embroidered, to the gray frock 

shading down." 



38 HISTORY OF DOVER 

This committee was instructed to seat all who were 
inhabitants of the parish, and who paid a tax on real and 
personal estates. The "fore-seats," which were the 
seats of honor in a Puritan meeting-house, were desig- 
nated as follows : — 

One on the ground floor and one in the gallery above, 
together with a side seat in the gallery. The young 
men occupied rows of seats in one gallery, while the 
young women had corresponding seats in the opposite 
gallery. 

As the long church service was uninteresting to the 
boys, they had to be constantly watched lest their 
" breach of the Sabbath " should shock the older people. 
So they were seated between the poor seats and the 
side pew, under the inspection of the older people and 
the young men. 

The committee, in " dignifying the seats," made 
certain seats in different localities equal in dignity with 
others. They thus satisfied the pride of the people, as 
all could not be placed in the fore-seats. Pews of 
irregular shape were built in different parts of the 
meeting-house. Some were square, others oblong, while 
common seats occupied the remaining space. Pews 
were assigned to the poor and later to colored people. 
The parish voted, out of respect to the aged, " that two 
years should be regarded as equal to one pound or 
penny in the single rate." After the seating committee 
had prepared its list and assigned seats to all the 
inhabitants, their report was read at a public meeting of - 
the parish May 7, 1767, and, after long waiting and I 
repeated requests "that if any had anything to say, | 
or objections to make, they would speak, and no man 



BUILDING THE MEETIXG-HOUSE 39 

speaking one word as to the thing before us, the report 
of the committee was accepted." 

Nevertheless, the people were not satisfied ; and in 
1769 the parish voted to make alterations in the seating 
of the meeting-house. About this time the parish was 
giving more attention to its public schools, and a motion 
was made to sell the pews to the highest bidder, the 
money thus raised to be appropriated to the public 
schools ; but the people were not ready for such a 
democratic measure. 

At an adjourned meeting held March 28, 1769, it was 
voted "that each person may come and choose his seat 
according to his age and estate." In accordance with 
this vote the inhabitants were seated as shown in the 
plans' given at the end of this chapter. 

March 6, 1772, Dea. Joseph Haven, Dea. Ralph 
Day, Hezekiah Allen, Jr., Daniel Whiting, Ebenezer 
Battle, Joseph Draper, Jr., and others were given 
" liberty to take up one hind seat in the body of seats 
each side of the alley, and build four pews for their 
room at their own charge, and enjoy them until said 
precinct reimbursed the first cost of said pews." 

The parish for nearly a half century was constantly 
considering the perplexing question of " seating the 
meeting-house"; and on the completion of the new house 
of worship, in 181 2, the inhabitants took this significant 
action : " Voted to seat the meeting-house for forty 
years." Families were seated in accordance with the 
tax paid towards the expense of building. The largest 
taxpayer had the first choice in his selection, and '• so 
on down." 

' No attempt is made to give the exact size and precise location of all the pews. 



40 HISTORY OF DOVER 

Titles were always prefixed to the names of citizens 
entitled to them, even in town affairs and in public docu- 
ments, as they were very proud of any titles they had won. 

This is illustrated by the town warrant in iSi6 
referring to the acceptance of a road laid out by the 
selectmen "through land of Col. George Fisher's, Lieut. 
Horace Bacon's, and Dea. Ebenezer Smith's." 

This meeting-house, which was completed after so 
much debate, different appropriations, and weary years 
of toil, served the people comfortably for half a century. 
In 1809 a committee of seven was chosen to examine 
the meeting-house and see what repairs were necessary 
to meet the needs of the people. The committee 
reported that the building was not worth repairing 
beyond minor repairs, which the selectmen were author- 
ized to make, and recommended the building of a new 
meeting-house at an expense of five thousand dollars. 
At this time the parish was considering the settlement 
of a new minister, and many were anxious to have a new 
meeting-house ; but the people, as usual, were divided 
in sentiment on the subject. At seven o'clock in the 
evening of Tuesday, February 13, 18 10, the meeting- 
house was consumed by fire. 

Although the selectmen called a district meeting, 
which was held in the Center schoolhouse on February 
21, and a reward of two hundred and fifty dollars was 
offered for the detection of the person or persons who 
set fire to the meeting-house, it was an open secret that 
it was set on fire by the hand of an irresponsible 
resident of the parish who thought it the best way of 
settling a difficult question. 

The last public service held in the old meeting-house 



I 



BUILDING THE MEETING-HOUSE 41 

was conducted by the Rev. Stephen Palmer, of Need- 
ham, the steadfast friend of the society, and their 
spiritual adviser during the Rev. Mr. Caryl's long and 
continued illness. 

Thus, by the hand of an incendiary, was wiped out 
the meeting-house in which the sacraments were first 
administered here, in which a fervent prayer was offered 
for the solace of the wife and children of a minute- 
man' who was among the first to give his life for 
this nation. It was in this meeting-house that the Dec- 
laration of Independence was read to the people as 
soon as it was received after its acceptance by the 
Continental Congress. Here for seven years were 
preached those thrilling words of patriotism which 
encouraged and cheered the hearts of the people during 
the Revolution. From this meeting-house how many 
friends and neighbors had gone out for the last time to 
sleep in the little burying-ground with the beloved dead 
of almost a century ! What tender memories cluster 
around the church of our fathers ! What tender 
thoughts and emotions arise when we enter the sacred 
portals where our ancestors for generations have wor- 
shipped ! How much one loses from his life who 
breaks off from these tender ties and associations ! 
What compensates for the separation .■* 

In view of the fact that their minister was feeble, 
many trembled for the future of the church ; but the 
people, full of courage, undertook the task, and raised a 
meeting-house of much larger dimensions and better 
architectural proportions than the first. 

■ Elias Haven. Killed at the battle of Lexington, April 19, 1775. 



Capt. Hezekiah 
Allen, Joseph Dra- 
per, Jeremiah Ha- 
con. 


Thomas Rich- 
ards, Josiah Reed, 

William Whiting. 


Samuel Cheney, 
Asa Mason, 


II 






Daniel Haven, John Chickering, 
John Draper. 



Front 
Door. 


Dea. Ralph Day, 


Josiah Bacon, 


Dea. Joseph Ha- 


Eleazer Allen, 




ven, Hezekiah Al- 


Widow Elizabeth 




len, Jr. 


Cheney. 




•'Z . 












1 -S 


Joseph Draper, Jr., 






Jonathan Whiting, 
David Fuller. 




Samuel Metcalf, Kbenezer Battle, 




Widow INIary Fisher. 



Door. 



Aisle. 



A isle. 



East 
Door. 



Jesse Knapp, 
Ebenezer Newell. 




Robert Murdock, 
Eleazer Allen, Jr. 


Josiah Briggs, 
Thomas Merrifield, 
Joseph Fisher. 

Seats. 


1 


Nathan Metcalf, 
Timothy Merrifield, 
Theodore Newell. 

Seats. 


Samuel Chickering, 
Samuel Herring, 
Jonathan Battle. 

Fore 


John Mason, 
Joseph Fisher. 

Seats. 


^ 


Pulpit. 


John Jones, Esq., 
Ephraim Bacon, 
Josiah Richards. 


Dea. Joshua Ellis, 
Nathaniel Wilson, 
Da\'id Chickering. 



GROUND FLOOR OF MEETING-HOUSE. 



Samuel Allen, Thomas Draper, Jeremiah Dean. 
Seats. 

Daniel Wliiting, Elias Haven, Samuel JMetcalf, Timothy Allen. 
Pew. 

Nathaniel Battle, Daniel Chickering, John 

Battle, Richard Bacon, Jonathan 

Day, Asa Richards. 

fore Seats. 



;t^^' 



bjO 



- .S W) o 

s ^ I ^ i 

S I g II 

^^ < w 2; 



PLAN OF GALLERY. 



CHArTP:R IV. 

HOW THEY SECURED A MINISTER. 

The First Preacher — Letter from the Grand Jury of 
Suffolk County — Public Worship not Continuous 
UNTIL 1759 — Application for a Division of First 
Church Lands — Vote to call a Minister — Joseph 
Manning — Samuel Dana — ^ Supplies — Call to Ben- 
jamin Caryl — Organization of the Church. 

H you traxel through the world well, you may find cities without walls, without 
literature, without kings, moneyless, and such as desire no coin, which know not what 
theatres or public halls of bodily exercise mean ; but never was there, nor ever shall there 
be, any one city seen without temple, church, or chapel. . . . This is that containetli 
and holdeth together all human society: this is tlie foundation, stay, and prop of all. 

— Plutarch. 

An appropriation of twenty-five pounds v^as made 
November 15, 1749, ^o defray the expenses of three 
months' preaching ; and Joseph Draper, Ralph Day, 
and Daniel Wight were chosen a committee to procure 
a preacher. As the parish was little more than a dozen 
miles from Harvard College, the committee was not 
charged with a difficult task. The preachers, for the 
most part, were young men still in college, who usually 
rode in on Saturday and returned on Monday, the 
parish furnishing entertainment. 

In the years that followed, the preacher sometimes 
became the district school-teacher during the winter 
season. These early public services were held in the 
schoolhouse, which was near the center of the parish, 
and, although owned by individuals, was used for all 
public meetings. 



BO IV THEY SECURED A MINISTER 45 

Mr. Thomas Jones was the first preacher. He filled 
an engagement for the thirteen weeks commencing with 
the first Sunday in December, 1749. Mr. Jones was 
born in Dorchester, Mass., and graduated from Harvard 
College in 1741. 

Soon after the organization of the church in Stough- 
ton, in 1744, he was called by the parish to become 
its pastor ; but the church failed to concur with the 
parish. He was called to the church at Woburn 
Precinct, now Burlington, in 1751. He remained 
pastor of the church until his death, which occurred 
in 1774. Mr. Jones was stricken with apoplexy in the 
pulpit just after the morning prayer, and died the same 
day. 

His gravestone, erected by the church at Burlington, 
speaks of him as having " great diligence, integrity, 
prudence, fidelity, and meekness of wisdom." 

At the close of Mr. Jones's engagement the Spring- 
field Parish voted not to have preaching during the 
summer ; and, as the people were scattered, it is not 
likely that they took up their worship again in other 
places. As winter approached, they were again mindful 
of the need of public worship, and the question of appro- 
priating money to meet the expenses of preaching came 
up at a parish meeting, November 8, 1 749 ; but, the 
vote being a tie, no provision was made to meet the 
expenses of public worship. During the next few years 
there seems to have been no public worship. In 1754, 
this fact having come to the knowledge of the court, 
the parish was notified that public worship must be 
maintained or they would be called before the court. 
Doubtless encouraged by the successful efforts of the 



46 HISTORY OF DOVER 

(ither parishes in Dedham, the people of the Fourth 
Precinct were more zealous for separating from the 
mother church than they were to support worship 
among themselves. 

The notice from the court seems to have reminded 
the people of their neglect ; and at a parish meeting 
held October 17, 1754, the moderate sum of ^13, ^s., 
6d. was voted to meet the expenses of two or three 
months' preaching. In tracing the development of the 
Dover church we find that in 1755 the public service 
was increased to four months' preaching in the winter. 
In 1757 provision was made for six months' preaching, 
while in 1758 the people were anxious to settle a min- 
ister and have a continuous Sunday service. Public 
worship was made permanent in 1759. 

The parish was not forgetful of the lands that had 
been laid out from time to time to aid the Dedham 
church in the support of preaching; and in 1755 the 
parish appointed Ensign John Jones, Ebenezer Newell, 
and Lieut. Jonathan Day a committee to make applica- 
tion to the First Church in Dedham for a division and 
allowance to this parish of their rights and proportion in 
the land set apart for the use and improvement of the 
church. 

The Dedham church considered the matter, having 
also petitions from the Norwood, West Dedham, and 
Walpole churches ; but the requests were so numerous 
that the church decided not to divide its lands. While 
the committee was empowered to take all necessary 
steps to recover their proportional part of all grants to 
the Dedham church, yet no legal action was taken by 
the committee, and the matter was dropped. 



I/OJV THEY SECURED A MINISTER 47 

In 1758 the body of the meeting-house having been 
furnished with seats and a pulpit erected, the parish 
voted, October 8, to make choice, in the common phrase 
of the time, of an " orthodox, learned, and pious per- 
son " to dispense "ye word of God" and administer the 
special ordinances of the gospel in the parish. 

Mr. Joseph Manning, of Cambridge, who had been 
a frequent preacher in the parish, was unanimously 
chosen as the minister of the society. The persistent 
efforts of a poor and scattered people in completing 
their meeting-house, which covered more than ten 
years, and in settling a minister, which occupied more 
than twelve years, must not be attributed wholly to the 
universal piety of the inhabitants. The law required 
the organization of a church, and their political privi- 
leges depended upon it. 

King William approved in 1692 a law by the Governor 
and Company of Massachusetts Bay that every town 
should be constantly provided with an able, learned, and 
orthodox minister of good conversation, to dispense the 
word of God ; and, although the people of this parish 
were freed from the responsibility of contributing and 
attending the church at Dedham, they were not freed 
from the responsibility of settling a minister among 
themselves, as shown in the watchful care of the court. 
The planting of a meeting-house and the final settle- 
ment of a minister was the most important step in the 
history of the town. We have only to carry ourselves 
back in imagination a hundred and fifty years to realize 
this. The inhabitants were a scattered people of little 
education, with a pioneer spirit ; having no public com- 
munication with the town of Boston ; with few and 



48 HISTORY OF DOVER 

poor highways and bridges, no mail facilities, with only 
one school kept for a few weeks in the year by an itin- 
erant schoolmaster in a little schoolhouse owned by indi- 
viduals, and where the scholars were expected to provide 
the fuel ; with no physician and little medicine for sick- 
ness ; few books, no newspapers or magazines ; none of 
the luxuries of life, and little time for social intercourse. 

The minister, a man of education and refinement, 
was settled for life. He was the chief magistrate and 
instructor, as well as preacher. He settled disputes, 
gave advice, consulted in sickness, fitted bright boys 
for college, and gave information on many subjects 
where knowledge was inaccessible. In short, he was 
not only a preacher, but stood in the place of all our 
modern institutions. 

Mr. Joseph Manning, who was called to the First 
Parish church, was born in Cambridge, Mass., and grad- 
uated from Harvard Coliege in 1751. He was chosen 
by vote of the parish October 18, 1758, and invited to 
settle March i, 1759, at an annual salary of £66, 13^., 
\d. As was customary in those days, in order to en- 
courage the minister to settle, the parish voted to give 
Mr. Manning, in addition to his salary, ^133, 6s., M., 
in lawful money, the whole amount to be paid within 
two years from the date of his settlement. 

Mr. Manning did not keep the parish in long sus- 
pense, as the following letter shows : 

To THE Inhabitants in the West Parish in Dedham. 

Christian Friends and Brethren,— Having taken into my most 
serious and prayerful consideration the call you have given me to 
settle in ye work of ye gospel ministry, I do here send you my 
answer. I can but heartily rejoice while I consider ye harmonv 



HOW THEY SECURED A MINISTER 49 

subsisting in your parish, and bless God for ye spirit of unity so 
wonderfully prevailing among you, which, if maintained and pre- 
served, will undoubtedly facilitate and every way forward ye set- 
tlement of ye gospel among you. As to your call to me, after 
weighing matters so far as I am capable, I am obliged to decline 
accepting it, not being willing to keep you long in suspense, as I 
was persuaded this would be the result of my thought after ye 
longest deliberation ; and, lest my undesigned delay should be 
taken for encouragement, this has occasioned me to speedily an- 
swer, which, speedy as it is, I trust will not be unexpected to you. 
Therefore, finally, brethren, live in love and peace, keeping ye 
unity of ye spirit in ye bond of it. And may ye God of peace be 
with you, may his peace rest upon you. That ye great Shepherd 
of ye sheep would in due time give you a pastor after his own 
heart, a faithful minister of ye New Testament to your spiritual 
edification and abundant joy and comfort, is and shall be ye 
prayer of your friend in Christ, 

Joseph Manning. 
Cambridge, December 4, 1758. 

No farther steps were taken to settle a minister for 
over two years, although there had been continuous 
preaching by different persons. December 11, 1760, 
the parish voted to extend a call to Mr. Samuel Dana, 
who had preached in the parish for four months, on 
the same salary and conditions as were offered Mr. 
Manning. There seems to have been opposition to 
Mr. Dana. At the time of his selection Dea. Joshua 
Ellis presented a paper, signed by himself and fifteen 
others, wishing to put on record their dissent from the 
action of the parish. Daniel Chickering represented 
the committee chosen to wait on Mr. Dana with the 
vote of the precinct. Mr. Dana was then preaching 
in Groton, and Mr. Chickering was paid twelve shillings 
for carrying the vote of the precinct to him. Mr. Dana 



50 



HISTORY OF DOVER 



declined the call, and probably made a verbal reply, as 
there is no record of any communication from him. 

Mr. Dana was a man of strong character. He was 
born in that part of Cambridge which is now Brighton, 
January 14, 1737. He entered Harvard College at the 
age of twelve years, and had for classmates President 
John Adams, Gov. John Wentworth, and other distin- 
guished men. He was a man of very decided opinion, 
and the opposition to him was probably on doctrinal 
grounds. This call was made just after the close of 
the French and Indian War and earlier than any 
opposition to the Crown. Mr. Dana was called to the 
church at Groton, Mass., February 3, 1761. 

He is said to have sympathized with the Crown, and 
in March, 1775, preached a sermon in favor of non- 
resistance. This sermon gave great offence to his 
people, and on the following Sunday he was not allowed 
to go into the pulpit. He soon asked for a dismissal, 
which was granted him by the town. He continued to 
live in Groton for several years, and for a time preached 
to an independent congregation which sympathized with 
him. Mr. Dana read law, and later settled at Amherst, 
N.H. He was appointed Judge of Probate for Hills- 
borough County, and died in Amherst, April 2, 1798. 

The Springfield Parish was fortunate in the men who 
occupied its pulpit in the years preceding the settlement 
of a minister. Many were men of deep piety, fine 
scholarship, and rare ability. These preachers not only 
developed the character of the people, but in those try- 
ing times from 1750 to 1760 fostered the spirit of 
fortitude among them. Perhaps it was too early to 
awaken a spirit of liberty ; but it came soon after, 



HOW THEY SECURED A MINISTER 51 

and was a marked characteristic of the people. Will- 
iam Symmes filled an engagement during the winter 
of 1754-55 ; and, as he also taught the Center School 
during that period, he must have become well ac- 
quainted with the people. Following his engagement 
in the Springfield Parish Mr. Symmes was elected tutor 
in Harvard College, where he remained for three years. 
November i, 1758, he was ordained as a minister at 
Andover, Mass. He preached the election sermon in 
1785, and received the degree of Doctor of Divinity 
from Harvard in 1803. He died in 1807. 

Mr. Nathaniel Sherman, who was teaching at West 
Dedham, was also a preacher here in 1755. Mr. 
Sherman was born in Newton and graduated from 
Princeton College in 1753, and was ordained as pastor 
of the church at Bedford, Mass., February 18, 1756. 
Settled over the church at Mount Carmel, Conn., May 
18, 1768, he remained there until his death, July 18, 
1797. 

The prominent preachers the next year were William 
Symmes, Thomas Brown, Joseph Cotton, George Minot 
(Harvard, 1752), Joseph Burbeam, A.M. (Harvard, 

1731)- 

Samuel Locke, A.M., S.T.D., of Lancaster, Mass., 
preached here for some time. He graduated from 
Harvard in 1755, was ordained at Sherborn November 
7, 1759) ^"d was inaugurated President of Harvard Col- 
lege March 15, 1770. 

Other preachers here, for short periods, were as 
follows : — ■ 

Peter Thacher Smith, A.M., graduated at Harvard 
College 1753. A son of the Rev. Thomas Smith, of 



52 HISTORY OF DOVER 

Falmouth, Me. (now Portland). Was ordained minister 
of the church at Windham, N.H. 

William Whitwell, A.M., graduated at the College of 
New Jersey in 1758, and died in 1781, aged forty-five 
years, in the twentieth year of his ministry. He was set- 
tled as an assistant to the Rev. John Barnard, of Mar- 
blehead, August 25, 1762. It is said of Mr. Whitwell 
that he was "the gentleman and Christian happily united. 
He was a well-instructed scribe, concise, pertinent, en- 
lightening, and winning in address on all occasions." 

Eliab Stone, A.M., was born in Framingham, Mass., 
May 5, 1737, graduated from Harvard College in 1758, 
and was ordained minister in Reading, Mass., May 20, 
1 76 1. He died in 1822 in the eighty-sixth year of his 
age and the sixty-second year of his ministry. 

Samuel Kingsbury, A.M., graduated from Harvard 
College in 1759. 

Nathaniel Noyes was born in Newbury, Mass., in 
1735, and graduated from Princeton College in 1759. 
He commenced preaching in 1760, and spent his life 
chiefly among the destitute. 

Jonathan Winchester graduated from Harvard College 
in 1737. He was the first minister at Ashburnham, 
Mass., where he was ordained in 1760. He died in the 
seventh year of his ministry, i y^j, greatly lamented. 

Ezra Thayer was a native of Mendon, Mass.; gradu- 
ated from Harvard College in 1756. He was ordained 
at Ware, Mass., January 10, 1759. He died February 
17. 1775' in the office. He was a man of pleasing 
address, and easily won the confidence of the people. 

Samuel Kingsbury graduated from Harvard in 1759. 
He preached for a time on the island of Martha's Vine- 



HOW THEY SECURED A MINISTER ^ 

yard, and received a call to the First Church in Edgar- 
town, Mass., which he accepted, and was ordained 
the 25th of November, 1761. He died in the office 
December 30, i TJ^, much loved and respected. 

Thomas Brown was born in Haverhill, and graduated 
from Harvard College in 1752. He was ordained at 
Marshfield, Mass., August 21, 1766. He was settled 
over the church at Westbrook, Me. He continued in 
the office until his death, October 18, 1797. 

William Clark, A.M., born July 22, 1740, son of the 
Rev. Peter Clark, of Salem (now Danvers), graduated 
from Harvard in 1759, and became an Episcopal clergy- 
man. He officiated at Ouincy, Mass., in 1767, and the 
next year went to England to take orders. He was 
accounted a refugee, and received a pension from the 
government of Great Britain, and returned to this 
country after the Revolution. 

William Goddard, A.M., graduated from Harvard 
College in 1761. 

Phineas Whitney, of Weston, graduated at Harvard 
College in 1759. He was settled over the church at 
Shirley, Mass., in 1762, and remained pastor for more 
than fifty years. He was a pious man, a successful 
minister, and a patriotic citizen during the trying times 
of the Revolution. 

Job Whitney, of Marlborough, entered Harvard Col- 
lege in 1758, and died January 13, 1761. He preached 
for several months in Brighton, and at the time of his 
death was preaching as a candidate at Marblehead, 
Mass. 

Joseph Dorr, of Mendon, graduated at Harvard in 
1755. He was a son of the Rev. Joseph Dorr, for 



54 HISTORY OF DOVER 

many years minister at Mendon. Joseph, Jr., did not 
enter the ministry, but read law. He was for many 
years a very prominent citizen of his native town. 

Timothy Walker, son of the Rev. Timothy Walker, 
of Concord, N.H., graduated from Harvard in 1756. 
He did not enter the ministry. He was a patriot of 
the Revolution, and in 1776 was a member of the 
Committee of Safety. He commanded a company of 
minute-men, and served under Sullivan in the campaign 
at Winter Hill. He read law, and for several years was 
Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas. 

Having heard supplies through all these years, at a 
meeting held April 15, 1762, the parish unanimously 
voted to extend a call to Mr. Benjamin Caryl, who had 
been a frequent preacher, to settle as their minister. 
He was offered, as an encouragement to settle, the sum 
of ^^^ZZ^ 6j-., S^t'., one-half to be paid in one year, and 
the remainder in two years from his ordination, with a 
yearly salary of £66, 13^-., A^d., to commence on the 
lOth of March, 1763. Nathaniel Battle, Dea. Joshua 
Ellis, Jonathan Whiting, Samuel Chickering, Capt. 
Hezekiah Allen, were chosen a committee to wait on 
Mr. Caryl. This call was accepted ; and the parish, 
in November, organized its church, which it had been 
so long laboring to establish. 



CHAPTER V. 

THE FIRST MINISTER. 

Benjamin Caryl — Letter of Acceptance — Ordination 
— A Confession of Faith — Church Covenant — Se- 
lection OF Deacons — Gift of Land for a Parson- 
age — Mr. Caryl's Bible — Death of Mr. Caryl — 
Funeral — -Estimate of his Character — Day of 
Fasting and Prayer — Gravestone Erected to his 
Memory. 

" The man of amplest influence, 
Whole in himself, a common good, 
Rich in sa\ing common sense, 
And, as the greatest only are, 
In his simplicity sublime." 

Benjamin Caryl, A.M., was born in Hopkinton, Mass., 
in 1732, and graduated from Harvard College in 1761. 
He studied theology with the Rev. Henry Messinger, of 
WVentham, whose daughter he married soon after his 
settlement. Although the call extended to him to 
settle over the Springfield Parish was made early in 
April, 1762, he did not reply until nearly five months 
after. He doubtless considered the question in all its 
bearings, and after much prayer and meditation, as was 
the custom of the time, saw his lines cast with this 
people, whom he faithfully served for nearly fifty years 
as a devoted minister. He beautifully exemplified in 
his life the truth of the Scripture, " He that is greatest 
among you shall be your servant." Mr. Caryl accepted 
the call of the parish the 5th of September, 1762, in 
the following letter : — 



56 HISTORY OF DOVER 

To THE People of the Springfield Parish in Dedham, 
Greeting : 

Christian Friends, — I hope I am in some measure sensible of 
the overruling providence of God in all things, and willing to 
hear and obey his voice to me therein. Especially would I at 
this time acknowledge and view the providence of God, both in 
so far uniting your hearts to invite me to carry on the great 
work of the gospel ministry among you and in inclining my heart 
to accept of your invitation. 

And I desire to bless God that, after so much pains taken to 
know my duty, I am so well satisfied with the clearness of my 
call to settle among you in the work of the ministry, though I 
hope I am sensible of my own unfitness, unpreparedness, and in- 
sufficiency for these things ; but being fully persuaded ye Christ as 
king and head of his church has appointed and established the 
office of ye ministry to continue in a constant succession to the 
end of time, and has promised to be with his faithful ambassa- 
dors always to the end of the world, I do therefore, humbly 
leaning on Christ's strength, seriously comply with your desire to 
take upon me the office of a pastor and to administer Christ's 
ordinances among you. 

And as, I hope, I do this with a desire for and aim at the glory 
of God and our own mutual good, so let your fervent prayers to 
God be that he would qualify me for this work and adorn me 
with all needful ministerial gifts and grace, that I may be a work- 
man that need not be ashamed, and that I may be prospered in 
my labors among you, if it be his will to place me as a laborer 
among you, and that we may live in love and peace as followers 
of the meek and lowly Jesus, that another day we may appear 
before him with joy and not with grief. 

Thus, asking your prayers, I rest, 

Your humble servant, 
Dedham, September 5, 1762. 



THE FIRST MINISTER 57 

Dr. Samuel Williams, the famous Vermont editor, and 
a classmate of Benjamin Caryl's at Harvard College, left 
some curious notes on the Commencement programme 
of his class in 1761, in which he picked out six men 
whom he judged "to be the most advantageous men to 
the Commonwealth of any in the class, but not to be 
in the most honorable stations therein." Speaking of 
Benjamin Caryl, whom he included in this list, he says, 
" an extraordinary genius, a good scholar and com- 
panion." 

It is to be remembered that the man who made this 
estimate of Mr. Caryl was himself a fine scholar. He 
received the degree of Doctor of Laws from the Uni- 
versity of Edinburgh, and became a member of several 
learned societies abroad. 

The parish voted October 11, 1762, to ordain Mr. 
Caryl on the loth of the following month; and a vote 
of thanks was extended to John Battle, who had gen- 
erously offered to entertain the council at his own ex- 
pense. 

As ministers in those days were settled for life, an 
ordination was of no common occurrence, and was always 
attended by a large number of people. This was no 
exception. A West Dedham lad, who wanted to attend 
the services but did not know the way, was told to go 
out to the highway and simply follow the crowd and 
he would have no difficulty in finding the place. On 
the Sunday previous to Mr. Caryl's ordination a meet- 
ing was held, perhaps at the house of Dea. Joshua Ellis, 
where a church organization was formed, which con- 
sisted of fifteen male members. The church was " em- 
bodied " by the Rev. Mr. Balch, of the Dedham 



58 HISTORY OF DOVER 

Second Parish (Norwood). An account of the ordi- 
nation and the names of these "foundation men" who 
orc-anized the church cannot be given, as the church 
records previous to 1812 were lost in the destruction 
of the Rev. Dr. Sanger's house in 1857. 

It will be seen that the parish antedates the church 
by thirteen years. After the organization of the 
church the company probably repaired to the meeting- 
house, where a sermon was preached by the Rev. Mr. 
Balch. A copy of a " Confession of Faith " and a 
" Church Covenant " in Mr. Caryl's handwriting were 
found in the old parsonage a few years since. They 
may or may not be a copy of those adopted and used 
by the church, but are given as illustrating the strong 
Calvinistic doctrine of the time. 

CONFESSION OF FAITH. 

You believe the mysterious doctrine of the ever-adorable 
trinity, one eternal God in three persons, — God the Father, who 
is from everlasting to everlasting, the creator, preserver, and 
governor of all things visible and invisible ; God the Son, the only 
Saviour and Redeemer of God's elect ; and God the Holy Ghost, 
the sanctifier, quickener, and comforter of God's children. You 
believe the persons to be the same in substance, equal in power 
and glory, as the Scriptures testify. You believe that God the 
Father sent his son, Jesus Christ, into the world to save sinners, 
and that the Lord Jesus Christ assumed the human nature into a 
personal union with his divine, to accomplish the redemption of 
fallen man. You believe in the death, resurrection, ascension, and 
intercession of the Lord Jesus Christ. You believe that there is 
no salvation to be had any other way but in and by the merits 
and satisfaction of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that in a way of 
faith, repentance, and gospel obedience, wholly exclusive of self- 
righteousness. You believe the Scriptures to be the word of God 



THE FIRST MINISTER 59 

given by inspiration, and the gospel to be true and faithful 
sayings. You believe the certainty of a future state in the other 
world, that there is a world of inconceivable happiness and 
glorious rewards for all such as do truly fear God and obey the 
gospel of his Son, and that there is a world of unspeakable 
misery for the wicked and ungodly. 

You believe that as all men have sinned so they must die or 
suffer a change equivalent thereto. 

You believe in the immortality of the soul and the eternity of 
heaven's joys and hell's torments. 

You believe the doctrine of the resurrection of the body and of 
the great and awful day of judgment, when the glorious Lord 
Jesus shall lae revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in 
flaming fire, to take vengeance on them that know not God and 
that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall be 
punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of God 
and from the glory of his power, when he shall be glorified in his 
saints and adored in them that believe. Amen. 



THE TERMS OF THE COVENANT. 

You are now, in the presence of God, to attend unto this most 
gracious covenant and by his grace to give your most hearty 
consent thereto. You do now, in the presence of God, his holy 
angels, and this assembly, in a most serious and solemn manner, 
according to the terms and tenor of the new and everlasting 
covenant, take the only living and true God to be your God, 
the Lord Jesus Christ to be your Saviour, prophet, priest, and 
king, and the Holy Spirit to be your teacher, sanctifier, guide, 
and comforter ; and you farther promise, in a solemn manner 
(through God's assistance), that you will walk sincerely and 
upright all your days, in obedience to all his holy commandments 
as they are or shall be made known to you from time to time. 
You do also give up yourself to this church in the Lord, and, 
according to the will of God, promising and covenanting to 
cleave to us and to walk together with us, as an instituted 
church of Christ, engaging, by his grace, that in the communion 



6o HISTORY OF DOVER 

of the church you will attend upon the ordinance of the gospel, 
to be there edified in your most holy faith as opportunity may 
convenience, and as long as God shall please to continue you and 
the gospel ordinances among us. 

You do also promise to walk orderly in time of fellowship and 
communion with all the church of Christ amongst us according to 
the rules of the holy order which God hath appointed, that the 
Lord may be one and his home one in all churches throughout 
all generations, to his eternal glory in Christ Jesus, our exalted 
Redeemer. 

THIS YOUR PROMISE. 

We, then, of this church, do joyfully and charitably receive you 
unto our holy communion and fellowship ; and I do promise unto 
you, in the name of the church, that we, by the assistance of 
divine grace, will discharge all duties toward you that are incum- 
bent on us, that we will pray with and walk toward you in 
brotherly love and holy, to the mutual building up of one another 
in the faith and fellowship of the gospel. Amen. 

It is worthy of note that the churches of New 
England have been slowly evolved, from one institu- 
tion in the early time, into a group of institutions, for 
the promotion of religion, morality, charity, education, 
missionary effort, social refinement, literary culture, and 
civic reform. 

Ralph Day and Joseph Haven, two of the most 
prominent and respected citizens of the parish, were 
chosen deacons, and continued in the office during their 
lives. 

Deacons, in the early time, had not only regular 
duties on the Sabbath and special duties at the com- 
munion service, but also took charge of prudential 
affairs and looked after the poor of the parish. In 



THE FIRST MINISTER 6i 

accordance with custom the two deacons were seated 
together in the meeting-house. They had charge of 
the vessels used in the communion service, and usually 
furnished the sacramental wine, the congregation or 
members contributing towards its purchase. The com- 
munion vessels were usually of pewter, and, not being 
of much value, were kept in the meeting-house. In 
1767 the parish voted to build a chest in the pew 
next to the pulpit on the east side, for the church 
vessels and cushions. The deacons had general charge 
of the church, and were expected to take up all 
contributions. 

The next month after his ordination, December 9, 
1762, Mr. Caryl married Mrs. Sarah (Messinger) 
Kelloch, widow of Dr. Cornelius Kelloch, of Wren- 
tham ; and thus commenced his family and parish life 
in this community. 

Mr. Caryl purchased the home of Daniel Wight, and 
in 1777 built the parsonage which is still standing on 
Dedham Street, unchanged except by time. It was 
doubtless intended that the minister should build on 
Walpole Street, where eighteen acres and twenty- eight 
rods of land near the house of Thomas Coughlan had 
been set apart for a parsonage. To this grant Jere- 
miah Fisher added two acres ; Michael Dwight, two 
acres; Henry Dewing, one acre; Samuel Chickering, 
two acres ; Dea. Ephraim Wilson, two acres ; and Na- 
thaniel Wilson, fifteen rods, — making a total of twenty- 
seven and one-fourth acres and three rods. This land 
is now known as the "parish wood-lot." 

Mr. Caryl was a man of marked individuality, and 
must have exerted a strong influence in the develop- 



62 HISTORY OF DOVER 

ment of the parish and in awakening that remarkable 
patriotism which was manifested during the Revolution. 
He was modest and retiring in his disposition, and 
seldom went abroad, spending his whole life in a rare 
devotion to his people. At a time when religion was 
at its lowest ebb, Mr. Caryl caused the family altar 
to be set up in nearly every home, and it is recorded 
that at one time there were only two prayerless fami- 
lies in the whole parish. The Revolutionary War 
seemed for a time to have had a demoralizing effect on 
the religious life of the people. There was a dread of 
religion and great hesitation in professing it, yet out of 
the spirit of independence was born the liberal church 
of America. 

His sermons were largely an exposition of Scripture, 
and were not of unusual length. One hundred and four 
persons united with the First Parish Church during his 
ministry. 

Mr. Caryl is said to have been remarkably gifted in 
prayer. He was an earnest and sincere preacher, but 
had no general knowledge of literature. His library, it 
was said by a witty lawyer, " consisted of a Bible, a 
Concordance, and an old jack-knife." The Dover His- 
torical Society has recently come into possession of the 
family Bible used by Mr. Caryl during his entire min-" 
istry. This Bible was doubtless used in the church 
service. Perhaps at first there was no public reading 
of the Bible. The neighboring town of Framingham 
did not have the public reading of the Scriptures until 
1792. 

The Brattle Street Church in Boston was the first 
Congregational church in New England to introduce 



THE FIRST MINISTER 63 

the reading of the Bible into the church service. Mr. 
Caryl was connected with his people for forty-nine 
years, and during the trying times of the Revolution 
made many personal sacrifices. He took charge of the 
schools, and fitted the bright boys for college ; and some 
who had already taken their degrees came to him to 
study theology. 

With little increase in wealth or population in the 
parish, Mr. Caryl labored until nearly eighty years of 
age. During the last few years of his life he was 
unable to visit his people or even take part in public 
worship ; yet the parish gave him a prompt and gen- 
erous support to the end of his life, as due to one 
who had labored so long and faithfully among them. 
In the fall of 1809 the church elected Mr. John 
Brewer as a colleague, to be settled with the Rev. Mr. 
Caryl. 

The district concurred with the church in the choice 
of Mr. Brewer, and January 3, 18 10, selected a com- 
mittee to wait on him and receive any proposition he- 
might wish to make to the parish. He was offered a 
salary of five hundred and fifty dollars and the use of 
the church wood-lot. Mr. Brewer considered the invi- 
tation favorably ; but the destruction of the meeting- 
house a few weeks later brought this matter to an 
abrupt ending, as he thought the people in too humble 
circumstances to build a meeting-house and support a 
minister at the same time. 

The church in Needham and the church in Dover 
were associated churches ; that is, the pastors preached 
for each other the lecture previous to communion, and 
were thus closely associated together. 



64 HISTORY OF DOVER 

During the last few years of Mr. Caryl's life the 
Rev. Stephen Palmer, of Needham, performed parochial 
duties in Dover, not only in visiting the sick, burying 
the dead, and performing marriage ceremonies, but also 
as a frequent preacher. June i6, 1813, the church 
extended a vote of thanks to Mr. Palmer "for his 
services and kind attentions." 

Mr. Caryl died November 14, 181 1, and was buried 
four days later, just at the entrance of the little burying- 
ground, which was near the spot where he had given 
nearly a half century of labor. 

" You can see his leaning slate 
In the graveyard, and thereon 
Read his name and date." 

At the funeral service the Rev. Thomas Thatcher, 
of West Dedham, made the introductory prayer. The 
Rev'. Dr. Thomas Prentis, of Medfield, preached the 
sermon, from 2 Cor. iv. 7. The Rev. Jabez Chickering, 
of South Dedham (Norwood), made the concluding 
prayer. The History of the Mendon Association of 
Ministers, published in 1853, thus speaks of him: — 

No obituary of Mr. Caryl was ever published. But his report 
is of a goodly savor. He was greatly beloved by all, and his 
memory is cherished with affection and respect. All are uniform 
in testifying that he was a good man and thoroughly orthodox. 
He was remarkably gifted in prayer. When he delivered his 
message, the tears were often seen to roll down his cheeks. He 
kept himself very much at home, seldom attending public meet- 
ings abroad. He drew as little from books as any man of his 
time. His sermons were written in a very legible hand, and the 
style is quite perspicuous. But one of them — a Thanksgiving 
sermon — was ever published. 



THE FIRST MINISTER 65 

The Rev. Emerson Davis, of New Britain, Conn., in 
his manuscript History of Congregational Ministers, 
gives this brief account of Mr. Caryl : — 

He was laid aside two and a half years previous to his decease. 
He is said to have been a man of great firmness, and that such 
was his zeal for the purity of religion he would have died as a 
martyr upon the scaffold in defence of it if it had seemed 
necessary. 

At this distance of time, in the absence of all 
records, few additional facts can be gathered which 
throw light on the life and work of Mr. Caryl. His 
intimate friend, the Rev. Mr. Palmer, of Needham, thus 
spoke of him in his sermon at the dedication of the new 
meeting-house : — 

This excellent man, this firm and unshaken friend of Zion, 
deserves an honorable mention on this occasion. 

It is now more than forty-eight years since he entered upon the 
duties of the pastoral office. He has therefore been long in the 
vineyard of Christ, and we feel fully authorized to say that it has 
been his uniform endeavor to be a faithful laborer. 

The piety of his heart, the soundness of his doctrines, and the 
integrity of his life, who can question, who can impeach? In 
him we behold "an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile." 

January 2, 1812, was appointed as a day of fasting 
and prayer throughout the parish in memory of Mr. 
Caryl. 

Public exercises were held in the meeting-house ; and 
several clergymen of the Norfolk Congregational Asso- 
ciation of Ministers, of which he was a member, took 
part. After these exercises, in which the people re- 
called his faithful labors, his many virtues, his sterling 



66 HISTORY OF DOVER 

character, his self-sacrifice in times of trial and danger, 
and withal his rare devotion to a humble people, they 
went home to erect affectionately to his memory a 
stone which bears the following inscription : — 

In memory of 

REV. BEN J. CARYL, 

who died Nov. 14, 181 1. 

Aged 80 years and in the 50th year of his ministry. 

" The fathers, where are they ? 
And the prophets, do they live forever 1 " 

Erected by the request and at the expense of his society. 



chaptp:r VI. 

SOCIAL LIFE AND CONDITIONS. 

Old Families — Books and Newspapers — Uncom- 
fortable Meeting-houses — Farm Life — Quilt- 
ing — Flowers — Old Houses — House-furnishings 
— Wooden Plates — Price of Farm Products — 
Travel — ■' Bundle Handkerchiefs " — Life among 

THE BOVS AND GiRLS. 

" In ev-ery virtue lies concealed 

A latent vice, which might have ruled. 
In every vice a virtue hides, 
Which needed only to be schooled.'" 

At the time of the Rev. Mr. Caryl's settlement, in 
1762, the parish contained forty-nine houses and three 
hundred and fifty-tv^^o inhabitants, all subjects of King 
George III. There was no village, or central settle- 
ment ; and scattered over the entire territory — a charac- 
teristic which has continued to the present time - — were 
the lonely farms of the Wilsons, the Fullers, the Days, 
the Richardses, the Wights, the Newells, the Fishers, 
the Ellises, the Whitings, the Chickerings, the Battles, 
the Bacons, the Joneses, the Aliens, the Masons, the 
Gays, the Drapers, the Guys, the Cheneys, the Metcalfs, 
and the Bullards. 

What was the life of this scattered settlement ? We 
know little of the neighborly feeling that existed among 
them. They were in some respects like one large 
family, visiting, helping, co-operating with one another, 



68 HISTORY OF DOVER 

especially in seasons of sickness, bereavement, or fes- 
tivity. In those clays there was only one newspaper in 
New England, and it was quite unlike the newspapers 
of to-day. It had a very small circulation, and probably 
had not a reader or subscriber in the Springfield Parish 
of Dedham. 

This was the age of pamphlets, when Paine, Jeffer- 
son, and Franklin issued their wonderful productions, 
which did so much to foster and stimulate the spirit of 
independence. 

Books were scarce ; but the few read were good, as 
only books of great literary merit were brought across 
the Atlantic. The Bible was in every home, and read 
above all other books. The catechism, Watts's Hymns, 
and the almanac, were next in importance. There 
were no daily newspapers. The first daily newspaper 
was published in London in 1702, and the first attempt 
in the United States was made some ninety years later. 
The Boston Daily Advertiser, although not the first 
newspaper published in America, is, nevertheless, one 
of the oldest newspapers in the country. Weekly 
papers were issued previous to this time, but had a 
limited circulation. During Mr. Caryl's time a news- 
paper was a rarity, much talked about and carefully 
treasured. What would our modern life be without a 
daily newspaper } It is no longer a luxury, but a 
necessity, guiding and inspiring nations as well as 
individuals. 

Farmers gathered at the tavern to get the news from 
those who, returning from Boston, tarried to get a mug 
of flip or blackstrap and to relate whatever of interest 
they had learned at the metropolis. Before the day of 










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SOCIAL LIFE AND CONDITIONS 69 

newspapers and magazines the minister was a person of 
vast and controlling influence in every community. 

The Sunday sermon, for the most part, was all the 
people had to think about during the week. 

The people of the Springfield Parish were fortunate 
in living near Boston, the center of civilization in New 
England. 

Seated in the comfortable churches of to-day, we 
cannot realize the discomforts of the church service 
of a hundred and fifty years ago in the unheated 
meeting-house in bitter weather, which grew colder 
and colder as the season advanced. The women tried 
to make the service endurable by means of little metal 
foot-stoves, encased in a frame and filled with live coals, 
which gave forth a little heat ; but, strange as it may 
seem, there was strong opposition to the introduction 
of stoves into the meeting-house, and it was only after 
various attempts that the Dover Parish voted to intro- 
duce them. The first Sunday on which stoves were 
placed in the meeting-house Major Burridge did not 
return to the afternoon service because, he said, the 
heat gave him a headache. Imagine his surprise, how- 
ever, when he learned that on that occasion no fire 
was kindled in them. 

Before the introduction of stoves into the meeting- 
house it was customary to have the " noon house," 
where the members of the congregation who lived at 
a distance could spend the noon hour and eat their 
lunch, which usually consisted of rye bread, cheese, 
and cider gingerbread. Here the women replenished 
their foot-stoves for the afternoon service, and all 
engaged in the idle gossip of the neighborhood. The 



yo HIS TORY OF DOVER 

men gathered around the blazing fire in the bar-room 
of Newell's inn, and ate gingerbread and cheese. In 
summer the women strolled through the burying- 
ground, and read on the gravestones, year by year, the 
added names of neighbors and friends. 

The farmers of this parish were a happy people, who 
owned the humble homes they lived in and the land 
they cultivated for a support. Their linen was made 
from the garden fla.x, and their clothes from cloth of 
which the material was spun, woven, and dyed by the 
hands of the busy housewife. The cutting of ship- 
timber, the burning of charcoal, the clearing and tilling 
of the land, kept busy the happy yeomen. In winter 
they were engaged in ox-teaming from Dover to Boston. 
Here they found a sale for their timber, as Boston, then 
a city of less than twenty thousand population, was 
largely engaged in ship-building and had many sails 
upon the water, — 

" The men of yore were stout and poor, 
And sailed for bread to every shore." 

A hundred years ago farmers were very careful of 
wood, fearing the supply would be exhausted. One 
resident of Strawberry Hill said, "Wood would be 
awful high when it was all gone." 

Those who know how easily birch-bark kindles, and 
how difficult it is to burn green birch-wood, on account 
of the great amount of sap it holds, will appreciate the 
following : A Dover farmer took a load of green birch- 
wood to market. A purchaser appeared who asked 
what kind of wood it was. " Well," said the farmer, 
" it will light the quickest and last the longest of any 



SOCIAL LIFE AND CONDITIONS 71 

wood you ever bought." Thinking these desirable qual- 
ities, the customer immediately closed the bargain ; and 
the wood was delivered. He did not fail, however, to 
call on the farmer the next time he was in town, and 
confirm the truth of the recommendation. 

On another occasion a farmer took a load of poplar- 
wood to Boston. Struck by the straightness of the 
grain and the whiteness of the wood, a customer was 
prompted to ask if it was walnut, to which question the 
farmer replied that it was jwt walnut. " Knot walnut } " 
said the man, " I never heard of that kind before " ; and, 
learning the price, which the shrewd farmer placed a 
little above ordinary walnut, he immediately engaged 
the load, and ordered it delivered at his door. 

The process of filtering cider through sand was 
called " running it through sand." A farmer supplied 
Boston market with cider " run through sand " by 
merely running his horses over the sandy road between 
Dover and Needham. 

The same farmer, having a quantity of strong vine- 
gar, extended it with an equal quantity of water. A 
customer tested it, and remarked, " It seems to me this 
vinegar is watered." "Well," said the farmer, "if it 
contains one drop of water, it is half water." Failing to 
realize that it could be watered to such an extent, it 
was purchased at the full market price. 

In the busy season there was little to break the 
monotony of daily life, but in the winter-time there was 
much visiting among the neighbors. The women gave 
many tea-parties, to which the men were usually invited 
in the evening ; and these parties did much to lighten 
labor and privation. The women early sought the co- 



72 JIISrOKY OF DOVER 

operation of their neighbors in quilting-parties. At odd 
times small pieces of calico were cut in various shapes 
and sewed together. This work furnished an opportu- 
nity for the display of taste ; and these quilts, when 
completed, were often quite beautiful and artistic. The 
women acquired great skill in the use of the needle, and 
found time to embroider dainty articles and to put into 
home-made linen such tiny stitches as would almost 
defy the skill of seamstresses of to-day. 

The early settlers found ample occupation for the 
employment of their time in supplying the necessaries fl 
of life. Nevertheless, they did not wholly ignore the 
aesthetic part of their natures. The love of flowers is 
one of the most spontaneous of emotions. They were 
first cultivated in the vicinity by Indians ; and the beau- 
tiful roses which grew on the " Indian farm," just 
across the line in Natick, were especially sought and 
admired. It is a touching fact that in the hard and 
stern life of our fathers time and a place were found 
for the flower-garden, which was the special care 
of the women of the household, and was the only 
pleasure-ground of the estate. 

How anxiously the women watched the little slip or 
cutting, which by skilful hand was rooted into plant or 
flower! Alice Morse Earle says, "A garden was cer- 
tainly the greatest refreshment to the spirit of a woman 
in the colonial days and the purest of her pleasures, too 
often her only pleasure." 

How carefully they cultivated such herbs as were 
used for "physick," — bloodwort, wormwood, savory, 
thyme, sage, spearmint, rue, pennyroyal, fennel, cori- 
ander, dill, tansy, and anise ! 



SOCIAL LIFE AND CONDITIONS 73 

" They hold a cure for every ill, 
A balm for every woe, 
When gathered in the morning dew, — 
The herbs of long ago." 

With what pains they grew the fragrant lavender, 
which, when dried, was put among their linen ! With 
what symmetry the box border was placed beside the 
path in the front yard, and the lilac-bush, the flowering 
currant, and the blush "rose, the white rose, and the 
cinnamon rose were arranged upon the grounds ! 

What a succession of hardy flowers appeared dur- 
ing the spring and autumn, — the white and yellow 
daffy, the tulip, the peony, honeysuckle, fleur-de-lis, 
lady's-delight, canterbury-bell, French pinks, larkspur, 
tiger-lily, verbena, hollyhock, yellow marigold, sweet- 
william, phlox, petunia, portulacca, candytuft, gilly- 
flower, sun-flower, polianthus, poppy, lupine, balsam, 
stock, aster, bachelor's-button, chrysanthemum, and 
cockscomb ! Even the English leek was planted on 
the rocks, and sad, indeed, was the fate of that house- 
hold when a leek was allowed to blossom ; for, in the 
vernacular of their superstition, it was set down as a 
sure indication of a death in the family. W'ho can esti- 
mate the pleasure, the aesthetic value, and the impor- 
tance of the flower-garden in their humble lives '^. 

Some curious customs prevailed. On Candlemas Day 
they ate rye pancakes, in the belief that whoever did 
so would not want for money during the year. The 
custom was largely observed and is still kept up by 
some families in remembrance of a past generation. 

Although widely scattered, theirs was not the isolated 
life of the farmers of to-day in the Dakotas or Nebraska, 



74 HISTORY OF DOVER 

who, coming from many lands and climes, have nothing 
in common in history or ancestry. 

The people of the Springfield Parish were largely 
descended from the early settlers in Dedham ; and, 
whenever they met, they had a common past to talk 
about. 

In their isolation the life of the women was blessed 
through the handicraft of the age, which really added 
to their comfort, intelligence, and contentment. In this 
respect they were better off than the women of the 
pioneer homes of to-day, w^here the sound of the spin- 
ning-wheel is never heard, and where the stockings and 
clothes, together with other articles, are purchased 
ready-made. 

Some of the houses built by the early settlers are still 
standing, — as the Glassett house, 1 748 ; the Arnold 
Wight house, 1755 ; the George E. Chickering house, 
1769. The first houses were built on hill-tops to avoid 
the gloom of the forest, and universally faced the south, 
no matter which way the road ran, with roofs slanting 
in the rear to within a few feet of the ground. If 
painted at all, red was used. Previous to the Revo- 
lution, houses were seldom painted white, and the 
diamond-shaped window-pane was almost universal. 
The large chimney in the center of the house was con- 
spicuous, and usually furnished three fireplaces in as 
many rooms on the first floor. Every window on the 
south side of the house was a sun-dial, and by means of 
a " noon mark " told twelve o'clock with the accuracy 
of a chronometer. 

The sleeping-rooms were without means of heating ; 
and in sickness, or when a guest was present in winter, 



SOCIAL LIFE AND COXDITIONS 75 

the warming-pan, a shallow brass pan with a heavy 
cover, was brought into use. The beds were of feathers, 
and rested on a sack of straw. The bedstead was of 
maple, and was corded with a small rope stretched 
crosswise, which held the bedstead firmly together. 
The bedstead and the chest of drawers were the most 
important articles of furniture in every house. 

The kitchen was one of large dimensions, whose fire- 
place was furnished with andirons, crane, pothooks and 
trammels ; while the shovel, tongs, poker, and bellows 
were at hand. The wooden settle, of which there are 
some fine specimens in town, stood near the fireplace. 
The brick oven was a much-used contrivance, and when 
heated with fagots furnished a complete system for 
baking. Here were baked the pumpkin pies, the Indian 
puddings, the brown bread, and pork and beans which 
have made New England famous. In kindling the fire 
the tinder-box was often brought into use, a spark being 
struck with a flint-and-steel, and a bit of the tinder 
lighted, which in turn kindled a bit of wood which had 
previously been tipped with brimstone. At bedtime the 
embers were carefully covered with ashes, and usually 
kept until morning ; but, when the fire was lost and the 
tinder was damp, somebody had to go to the nearest 
house to get a live coal, which was carried with a pair 
of tongs. 

There was no carpet on the floor of the "best room," 
but numerous braided rugs of a variety of colors, a table, 
and high-backed, splint-bottomed chairs. The simple 
furniture in these early homes was all brought over from 
England, many pieces of which, made of choice wood, 
are still in existence in the homes of those descended 
from these settlers. 



76 HISTORY OF DOVER 

Wooden bowls, plates, and spoons were used, with 
pewter platters and porringers. The introduction of 
tea and coffee, which was drunk from cups and sau- 
cers, banished the porringer. When first introduced, 
crockery plates were objected to because it was thought 
they dulled the knives. 

The kitchen was usually furnished with two spinning- 
wheels, a small one for flax and a large one for wool, on 
which was spun the linen thread and woollen yarn which 
by means of hand-looms was woven into cloth. Once 
a year the itinerant tailoress and shoemaker visited the 
home to make up a year's supply of clothes and shoes. 
Around the kitchen were hung, in early autumn, a 
year's supply of fragrant herbs, dried apples, red pep- 
pers, and selected ears of seed-corn, together with a 
supply of crookneck squashes, which sometimes kept in 
sound condition during the entire year ; and an abun- 
dant supply of cranberries were at hand. 

The cheese-press was placed in a little room adjoining 
the kitchen ; and there was made the wholesome cheese, 
which, taken from the press, was placed upon shelves, 
and daily turned and buttered. In those days no 
butcher made triweekly rounds ; and the farmer had 
little fresh meat except at pig-killing, or when a lamb, 
or calf, or steer was slaughtered. 

An exchange of meat was often made with a neigh- 
bor, and in this way the supply was extended over a 
large part of the year. Much rye and cornbread and 
many vegetables were eaten. Potatoes were very spar- 
ingly partaken of at first, as they were thought to be 
poisonous. The few left over in the spring were care- 
fully buried lest they should be eaten by a horse or 



SOCIAL LIFE AND CO ADDITIONS 77 

COW. Apple-sauce, sometimes called apple-butter, which 
was made by boiling unfermented cider down almost to 
a syrup, in which the pared and quartered apples were 
placed, together with some quinces for flavoring, made 
a very appetizing preserve. As the early houses had 
no underpinning, when winter approached they were 
banked up with leaves, sawdust, or earth, for warmth 
and protection to the roots, fruit, cider, and other 
articles which were stored in the cellar. 

The early settlers did not cultivate a great variety of 
fruit. Their apple and pear trees, some specimens of 
which are still standing, were grown from seeds brought 
over from England. The thrifty farmer made ample 
provision for housing his stock and protecting his hay, 
wagons, and farming tools in large and well-kept barns 
and sheds, which were often in better repair than the 
house, and were the admiration of foreigners. In those 
days there was no application of science to agriculture, 
no special adaptation of the plant to the soil. 

In haying-time the farmer commenced to mow with 
his scythe by four o'clock in the morning. The grass 
was all spread, turned, and raked by hand. The fields 
were broken up and the sward turned under by means 
of a wooden or wrought-iron plough, which was made 
by the town blacksmith. The ground was pulverized 
for planting by means of cross-ploughing and the use 
of the toothed harrow, which is now used only in 
seeding. All hoeing was done by hand, and the farmer 
was given to hilling rather than to level culture. 

Travel was largely on horseback ; and many now in 
middle life can remember the horse-blocks, which were 
placed at convenient points in town to assist in mount- 



78 HISTORY OF DOVER 

ing and dismounting from the saddle or the pillion hung 
across the horse's back. 

The price of farm products fluctuated greatly accord- 
ing to local abundance or scarcity. As the price of 
commodities was very low, there was little money with 
which to purchase anything more than the bare neces- 
saries of life. Farmers' families had an abundance of 
everything which could be grown or produced, but 
there was little bought for the household. Wild game 
was plentiful. A record made in the winter of 1752-53 
says "plenty of pigeons." In the spring there was an 
abundance of fish in the Charles River. The wild 
pigeon has become almost extinct, while thirty years 
ago flocks of fifty or more were seen feeding on the 
blueberries in swamps. Wages were very low : farm 
hands were paid from thirty-three to fifty cents a day, 
while well-grown lads received from four to five dollars 
a month. Men often labored a day for a " sheep's head 
and pluck." Milk sold for two cents a quart, and butter 
for thirteen cents a pound. Apples were worth twelve 
and a half cents a bushel. The use of a yoke of oxen 
for a day was twenty-five cents. Shoes cost sixty cents 
a pair to make, and board was one dollar a week. 

We often read of the bundle handkerchief as though 
it was an institution peculiar to Salem. It was com- 
monly used in Dover early in the present century. It 
was doubtless originally introduced into Salem, like blue 
china and preserved ginger, through the East India 
trade. As its name indicates, the bundle handkerchief 
was used for enclosing all sorts of things, and came into 
daily use in neighborhood visits, in shopping, and for 
all purposes for which travelling-bags are now employed. 



SOCIAL LIFE AND CONDITIONS 79 

These handkerchiefs were made of a variety of material, 
— silk and linen for visiting purposes, while for ordi- 
nary use they were made of remnants of various kinds. 

The boys labored with their fathers on the farm with- 
out compensation until they reached their majority ; and 
the girls assisted their mother in the housework, which, 
in addition to the ordinary work of to-day, embraced 
every form of spinning and weaving cotton, wool, and 
flax, knitting, tailoring, making men's underclothing, 
quilts, comforters, dyeing, making of soap, candles, 
yeast, browning of coffee, drying of fi*Liit and vegetables, 
and pickling and salting of meats. 

The monotony of the farm-life for boys and girls was 
broken only by a few months of the most elementary 
schooling in the winter season, they having earned the 
privilege of going to school by doing " chores " in the 
morning and again at evening. 

There was no effort made to furnish amusement for 
the children. On the contrary, they were taught, as 
soon as they were able, to work. Later they were 
entertained with stories of Moll Pitcher, an uncanny 
woman of Salem, who was supposed once in a while 
to travel through this region. In the early fall the boys 
trapped the rabbit and partridge, and later, in company 
with their fathers and elder brothers, fished for pickerel 
through the ice. 

When the snow lay hard and smooth on the highway, 
or deep and crusted in the fields, was the time for 
moonlight slides. Then the boys and girls on impro- 
vised sleds coasted down the steepest hills. 

During the winter months singing-schools were held 
in the schoolhouse, and spelling-schools also, where the 



So HISTORY OF DOVER 

l)est spellers chose their sides, and all stood up in rivalry 
to spell each other down. 

In the fall, under the harvest moon, frequent husking- 
parties were given, where in shed or barn the merry 
huskers, with the girls of the neighborhood, carried out 
in spirit Whittier's huskers' song : — 

" Heap high the farmer's wintry hoard, 
Heap high the golden corn ; 
No richer gift has Autumn poured 
From out her lavish horn. 

" Let earth withhold her goodly root, 
Let mildew blight the rye, 
Give to the worm the orchard's fruit, 
The wheatfield to the fly : 

" But let the good old crop adorn 
The hills our fathers trod ; 
Still let us, for his golden corn. 
Send up our thanks to God." 



CHAPTER VII. 

COLONIAL CONTESTS. 

Earlv Military Organization — Louisburg — Crown 
Point — Repeal of the Stamp Act— -Sons of Lib- 
erty — Boston Tea-party — Committee appointed to 

SEE THAT No TeA WAS DRUNK IN THE SPRINGFIELD 

Parish — Vote not to purchase Imported Articles 
- — Committee of Correspondence — Tories. 

" My country, 't is of thee. 
Sweet land of liberty, — 

Of thee I sing: 
Land where my fathers died. 
Land of the pilgrims' pride. 
From every mountain side 

Let freedom ring! " 

As Dov^er was only a parish in Dedham, and unrecog- 
nized in any official records, it is impossible to make its 
history as complete as that of an incorporated town ; yet 
we have made as full a record as possible of the noble 
part our fathers bore in the colonial contests and in the 
great struggle for American independence. 

The children in our public schools will find in this 
local history the successive steps for independence, 
which are referred to in their school histories as the 
work of a few leaders, participated in by their own 
ancestors in the Dedham town-meeting. 

While the French were striving to gain supremacy 
in New England, their Indian allies were constantly 
engaged in petty border wars on the frontier, surprising 



82 



HISTORY OF DOVER 



lonely hamlets, slaughtering many women and children, 
and torturing to death many fighting-men. 

To meet the dangers to which they were exposed, a 
militia was maintained for many years. Sometimes the 
residents of several parishes united to form a company. 
Such an organization existed in West Dedham as late 
as 1754, and the following residents of the Springfield 
Parish were members of the company under Capt. 
Joseph Richards : — 

John Jones, Ensign. 

John Chickering, Sergeant. 

Hezekiah Allen, Jr., Oliver Bacon, Corporals. 



Jonathan Bullard, 
Daniel Whitings 
William Whiting, 
Ebenezer Battle, 
Daniel Chickering, 
Eliphalet Chickering, 
Josiah Fisher, 
John Battle, 
John Mason, 
James Draper, 
Timothy Guy, 



Prh'afes. 

Ezra Gay, 
Samuel Chickering, 
Nathaniel Wilson, 
John Griggs, 
Joseph Draper, 
Ralph Day, 
Joshua Ellis, 
Jonathan Whiting, 
Richard Bacon, 
Jonathan Battle, Jr., 
Ephraim Bacon, 



John Draper, Jr., 
Jonathan Whiting, Jr., 
Lemuel Richards, 
Thomas Draper, 
Joseph Draper, Jr., 
Thomas Richards, 
Hezekiah Allen, 
Jonathan Battle, 
Eleazer Allen, 
Samuel Metcalf, 
Joseph Chickering. 



A Dedham company probably took part at Louisburg 
in 1758, as the records of the Second Parish (Norwood) 
show that five residents of that parish, in addition to 
the minister, the Rev. Mr. Balch, who was a chaplain, 
were officers in a company. Among so many officers 
there must have been some privates. All the Dedham 
parishes were doubtless represented in the signal vic- 
tory at Louisburg, but the names of soldiers cannot 



J 



COL ONI A L CONTES TS 83 

be given. In the contest at Crown Point, N.Y., in 
1755, Daniel Whiting and Timothy Guy took part in 
Capt. William Bacon's company. Others were engaged 
at different times and places as follows : Timothy Ellis, 
Lemuel Richards, David Cleaveland, Hezekiah Gay, 
Thomas Larrabee, and Ephraim Richards. 

We must remember that the people were now poor, 
that they had little more than the necessities and lesser 
comforts of life. They were engaged in clearing and 
subduing lands, and not in those trades which create 
wealth. They were making it possible for the colony 
to grow and flourish. There was not a man in all New 
England who would be considered rich in England. 
Burke in 1 763 said, " Some of the most considerable 
provinces of America, such, for instance, as Massachu- 
setts Bay and Connecticut, have not in each of them 
two men who can afford at a distance from their estates 
to spend a thousand pounds a year," and, as an argu- 
ment against the thought of their representation, said, 
" How can these provinces be represented at Westmin- 
ster .-' " Dr. Franklin testified in 1766, " In my opinion 
there is not gold and silver enough in the colonies to 
pay the stamp duty for one year." The colonies were 
forced to trade with England to such an extent that 
Burke said, " The north provinces import from Great 
Britain ten times more than they send in return to us." 
This occasioned shortness in gold and silver, and most 
of the trade consequently among individuals was by 
barter. Massachusetts, with a population of two hun- 
dred and forty thousand, less than half the present 
population of Boston, expended during the French 
and Indian War on her own account four hundred and 



84 HISTORY OF DOVER 

ninety thousand pounds sterling, which burdened the 
colony with debt. 

Aftpr the close of the French and Indian War, in 
1765, a new difficulty arose. The war had added 
greatly to the expenses of the government in Great 
Britain ; and, as America had shared in the benefit, the 
British government thought she should share also in the 
expense, forgetting that the Americans had contributed 
in their way and had debts also to pay. The province 
of Massachusetts furnished nearly thirty thousand sol- 
diers and seamen, and it is said that one year in particu- 
lar every fifth man was engaged in war. This being 
true, a place so near Boston as the Springfield Parish 
must have been represented by a goodly number of 
men, — more than those whose names have been 
recorded. 

To meet the expenses of the small force which was 
kept up in America as defence against the Indians, the 
English government in 1 764 passed the famous Stamp 
Act. The enforcement of this law caused great wrath 
in Dedham. Samuel Dexter, Esq., represented the 
town in the General Court ; and he received the follow- 
ing instructions from a committee of seven chosen by 
the town, of which committee Col. John Jones, of the 
Springfield Parish, was a prominent member : — 

To Samuel Dexter, Esq. : 

^'>' : — The freeholders and other inhabitants of the town of 
Dedham, greatly alarmed at the late burdens which the Parlia- 
ment of Great Britain has laid upon the colonies, particularly at 
the tax imposed on us by the Stamp Act, so called, and being 
desirous by all regular and legal methods to do what lies in our 
power to prevent the difificulties in which we shall be involved by 



COLONIAL CONTESTS 85 

the operation of the said Act, if the same should take place in 
this province, do now instruct you that, while you appear at and 
represent this town in the Great and General Court, you do by no 
means join in any public measures for countenancing and assist- 
ing in the execution of the said Act. 

It being the sense of the town that our rights as British sub- 
jects, which are founded in those that are common to all mankind, 
are by this Act greatly infringed upon, and that our invaluable 
charter rights are also thereby in a great measure violated, and 
not being sensible that this province has by any disloyal or un- 
worthy conduct forfeited the privileges it enjoyed, we do there- 
fore, in justice to ourselves and our posterity, direct you that 
you be not wanting in your endeavor in the General Assembly to 
have these rights in direct terms asserted and vindicated, which 
being left on record will be a testimony for us, in future genera- 
tions, that we did not tamely acquiesce in the loss of our liberty. 
To do this we think it our duty : and we desire thus in the way of 
our duty to trust in the good providence of God, which often has 
and we hope will again appear for our relief, however dark the 
prospect may appear. ' 

As we have an unquestionable right to give you the foregoing- 
instructions, so, we doubt not, you will consider it as your duty to 
pay all due attention thereto and strictly observe the same. All 
other matters we leave to your prudence, trusting you will always 
act as you judge most for the interests of the province in general 
and of this town in particular. 

The news of the repeal of the Stamp Act in May, 
1766, was an occasion of great rejoicing, and in few 
places more so than in Dedham. A committee of the 
Sons of Liberty, of which Col. Ebenezer Battle, of 
the Springfield Parish, was a prominent member, was 
chosen to erect the famous Pillar of Liberty ; and his 
name is still read on the granite base, as it stands on 
the Dedham church green. 



86 HISTORY OF DOVER 

Barre, one of the members of Parliament who spoke 
against the Stamp Act, referred to the agitators in 
America as the "sons of liberty." This phrase was 
taken up and adopted as the name of a powerful organ- 
ization, the members of which agreed to buy no British 
goods. The Sons of Liberty had a large membership 
in the Springfield Parish. Toryism was severely de- 
nounced, and citizens showing any sympathy with 
Great Britain were waited on by delegates of the Sons 
of Liberty. 

Col. John Jones held a commission as justice under 
the King. As the Sons of Liberty in Boston com- 
pelled Oliver, the stamp collector, to resign his office 
under the Liberty Tree, so the Sons of Liberty here in 
1774, under a spreading tree which is still standing, 
requested Col. John Jones to resign his commission as 
a magistrate to King George. He did not think it best 
to refuse to comply with this pressing invitation ; and 
it is said, to Colonel Jones's great credit, that in after 
years he became a loyal supporter of the new govern- 
ment. He had two sons who served in the Revolution. 
His oldest son, John Jones, Jr., died in the Revolution- 
ary service at Crown Point, July 4, 1776. 

At a town-meeting held March 5, 1770, at the Ded- 
ham First Parish meeting-house, it was voted "that as 
the duty on tea furnishes so large a sum towards ye 
maintenance and support of an almost innumerable mul- 
titude who live upon the fruits of the honest industry of 
the inhabitants, from the odious Commissioners of the 
Customs down to the dirty informers that are employed 
by them, therefore we will not make use of any foreign 
tea, nor allow the consumption of it in our respective 



COLONIAL CONTESTS 87 

families till such time as, the duty being first taken off, 
this town shall by some future vote grant an indulgence 
to such persons to drink tea as have not virtue enough 
to leave off the use forever." Dea. Ralph Day, of this 
parish, was one of the committee of five who were 
appointed to see that the foregoing vote was complied 
with. 

But the crisis came when the King sent vessels to 
Boston laden with tea. Residents of this parish at- 
tended that great meeting of seven thousand people 
which was held December 16, 1773, in Faneuil Hall, 
and adjourned to the Old South Meeting-house for 
more room. At the close of that memorable meeting 
Timothy Guy was one of those who gave the war- 
whoop, and then proceeded to Griffin's Wharf, where 
they took possession of the three tea ships, and emptied 
their entire cargo into the sea. 

" Oh, ne'er was mingled such a draught. 
In palace hall or arbor, 
As freemen brewed and tyrants quaffed 
That night in Boston Harbor." 

Dover thus shares in the honor of having taken part 
in the Boston Tea-party, which was one of the most 
momentous and far-reaching events of the troubled 
times before war was openly declared. 

The morning after the Tea-party John Adams wrote 
in his diary : " Last night three cargoes of Bohea tea 
were emptied into the sea. This morning a man-of-war 
sails. This is the most magnificent movement of all. 
There was a dignity, a majesty, sublimity, in this last 
effort of the patriots that I greatly admire. The people 



88 HISTORY OF DOVER 

should never rise without doing something to be remem- 
bered, — something notable and striking. This destruc- 
tion of the tea is so bold, so daring, so firm, so intrepid 
and inflexible, and it must have so important conse- 
quences and so lasting, that I cannot but consider it as 
an epoch in history." 

December 5, 1774, the tov^n voted "that we do 
further engage that we will not drink, nor suffer any in 
our families to drink, any kind of India tea till we have 
a full redress of all the grievances enumerated in the 
Association Agreement " ; and, as members of a com- 
mittee of thirteen who were to carry out this vote, Dea. 
Ralph Day, Capt. P^benezer Battle, and Lieut. Ebenezer 
Newell were chosen from the Springfield Parish. 

This committee of inspection were instructed to 
endeavor to find out whether any of the inhabitants pre- 
sumed to violate the foregoing engagement, and, if any 
were found acting contrary thereto, to post up their 
names in some public place in each parish, as enemies 
of the welfare of America. 

At the lk)ston town-meeting in November, 1772, 
Samuel Adams introduced an order that "a committee 
of correspondence be appointed, to state the rights of 
the colonists of this province in particular, as men, as 
Christians, and as subjects, and also request of each 
town a few communications of their sentiments on the 
subject." To meet the requirements of this vote, at a 
Dedham town-meeting held December 27, 1773, a com- 
mittee of correspondence was chosen, "to join with 
other towns in such measures as might be proper, 
salutary, and effectual for the redress of our grievance 
and liberties." 



COLOXIAL COXTESTS 89 

Dea. Ralph Day, of this parish, was one of a commit- 
tee of four who, as delegates to the convention held 
September 15, 1774, adopted the celebrated Suffolk 
resolutions. It must not be imagined that the people 
were all loyal. There were Tories among them, yet 
Toryism was not permitted ; and, when an outspoken 
Tory carried provisions to the British quartered in 
Boston, a company of indignant citizens waited on him, 
and in the words of the leader said : " Zounds ! have 
you been feeding the British } If we hear any more 
of this, we will pull your house down from over your 
head." 

On the morning of the battle of Bunker Hill, as 
Solomon Richards was hastening towards Boston, he 
met a man who denied there had been an engagement. 
At this point another man rode up ^vho contradicted 
the statement. Mr. Richards took the man a prisoner, 
bound him upon his horse, and carried him to the house 
of his father-in-law, at the Peacock Tavern, Jamaica 
Plain, where he was detained until the truth could be 
ascertained. In the meantime a body of soldiers arrived 
and demanded the Tory, that they might hang him 
during their halt. i\Ir. Richards insisted that the 
prisoner should have a trial. The well known patri- 
otism of Mr. Richards, together with that of his father- 
in-law, saved the man from the gallows, but not from 
thirty-nine lashes ordered by the court. Twelve mem- 
bers of the Richards family, eight of whom were 
brothers, took part in the Revolution. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

THE SPRINGFIELD PARISH IN THE REVOLUTION. 

Battle of Lexington — Death of Elias Haven — Capt. 
Ebenezer Battle's Company of Minute -men — 
Battle of Bunker Hill — Dorchester Heights — 
Battle of Trenton — Valley Forge — Cherry Val- 
ley — Continental Money — Revolutionary Sup- 
plies — Petition of Daniel Whiting to General 
Court — Discipline of Continental Army. 

" Swift as the summons came they left 

The plough, mid-furrow, standing still, 
The half ground corn-grist in the mill. 
The spade in earth, the axe in cleft. 

" They went where duty seemed to call, 
They scarcely asked the reason why ; 
They only knew they could but die, 
And death was not the worst of all." 

At the breaking out of the Revolutionary War the 
Springfield Parish contained a population of some three 
hundred and fifty souls, scattered over the entire terri- 
tory ; and, before the war closed, more than thirty per 
cent, of the inhabitants took part in one or more engage- 
ments, and several served for years in the Continental 
Army. Although the spirit of liberty was abroad, some 
of the most prominent citizens of this little hamlet were 
strong adherents of the King. 

On one occasion the residents had seen British 
ofificers upon their streets, who from time to time rode 
out into the country to break the monotony of their life 
in Boston. They knew these soldiers were sent to 



SPRINGFIELD PARISH IN THE REVOLUTION 91 

support the strong arm of King George. They were in 
close touch with all that transpired in Boston ; and some 
may have looked upon the bodies of the " Boston 
martyrs " ' who were killed on King Street, now State 
Street, on the evening of March 5, 1770, by British 
soldiers. 

"From the moment the blood of those men stained 
the pavement of Boston streets," Daniel Webster said, 
"we may date the severance of the colony from the 
British kingdom." 

In 1773 Dedham voted to unite with other towns in 
a measure to protect their liberties. The next year 
companies of minute-men were organized. Capt. Eben- 
ezer Battle stood at the head of the company in the 
Springfield Parish, which included nearly all the able- 
bodied men in the parish. 

The morning of April 19 was a bright, crisp morning. 
The cherry-trees were in bloom, the grass waved in the 
fields, and the farmers were busy ploughing or sowing 
grain. 

About nine o'clock a messenger hurriedly passed 
through the parish on his way to Dedham, and an- 
nounced the movement of the British. The company 
of minute-men was hastily summoned ; and in an incred- 
ibly short time the farmers gathered from the remotest 
parts of the parish, and formed on the green near the 
tavern. Aaron Whiting, who was ploughing in the field 
when the summons came, left the plough in the furrow 
and his oxen to be unyoked and driven to pasture by his 
wife. Later a hurrying company of minute-men from 
Walpole passed through the parish. 

' Crispus Attucks, Samuel Gray, Patrick Carr, Samuel Maverick. 



92 HISTORY OF DOVER 

How the command of Captain Battle to "march" 
must have rung in their ears ! He led his men directly 
to Watertown, and took the highway which led to Me- 
notomy, that part of Cambridge which is now Arling- 
ton, where the Dover farmers 

" Gave them ball for ball 
From behind each fence and farmyard wall." 

Elias Haven, standing near the meeting-house, was 
shot down by a British soldier, and is buried under the 
monument erected in Arlington in 1 848. Our minute- 
men engaged in the hottest part of the fight. At Me- 
notomy, it is said, occurred the most deadly skirmish of 
the day, not excepting the fight at Concord Bridge. 
The British loss was heaviest here, and of the forty-nine 
patriots killed that day twenty-two fell at Menotomy. 
It is said that the minute-men went forth to this en- 
counter full of courage and in the strong belief that the 
contest would soon be over. What must have been the 
feelings of the aged men, the women, and the children 
who were forced to remain at home on that eventful 
day ! With what anxiety and uncertainty they saw the 
sun go down on that 19th of April which marks the 
beginning of American independence ! 

What was the effect of this day upon the people t 
The Rev. Mr. West, of Needham, who mingled much 
with his people on that day, says, " We even anticipated 
the enemy, enraged as they were, at our door, in our 
homes, acting over all the horrors which usually attend 
the progress of an exasperated victorious army, espe- 
cially in civil wars like this." He further adds, "This 
memorable day appeared to have a surprising effect on 



J 



SPRINGFIELD PARISH TN THE REVOLUTION 93 

the spirit of the people in general ; and from being, as I 
had supposed them, and as they were actually, mild and 
gentle, they became at once ferocious, cruel, — at least 
towards all those whom they suspected as unfriendly to 
their cause." 

The following letter by John Jones, Jr., captain 
of a Princeton company of minute-men, and a former 
resident of this parish, written three days after the en- 
gagement, is of interest : — ■ 

Cambridge, April 22, 1775. 

Loving Wife, — - There was a hot battle fought between the 
Regulars that marched to Concord and our people on Wednes- 
day, the 19th of this instant, in which many on both sides were 
slain (but most of the enemy), as we heard before we marched. 

As we marched to Concord, we were often informed that the 
enemy had marched from Boston a second time, and had got as 
far as Lincoln. We hurried on as fast as possible, expecting to 
meet them in Concord ; but when we arrived there we were in- 
formed that they had returned from their first engagement to 
Charlestown, from which they have gone to Boston. We are now 
stationed in one of ye colleges, as are many more of ye army, all 
in good health, through ye divine goodness and hope of ye bless- 
ings of heaven. In ye first combat, among those that were slain 
were Lieut. John Bacon, of Needham, two Mills. Nat. Chamb'n, 
and two others from Needham, Elias Haven from Springfield. 
If you have an opportunity, you may send brother Hapgood a 
shirt and pair of stockings. I'm uncertain when we shall return. 
May we all be enabled to turn to our God, that he may save us 
from ruin ! 1 am, with greatest respect, your affectionate and 
loving husband till death. 

John Joxes. 

Jabez Baker brought back from the Lexington Alarm 
a " red coat " which he stripped from a British soldier 
who had been killed. A part of this coat was in exist- 



94 



HISTORY OF DOVER 



ence as late as 1866, and was used on Strawberry Hill 
to scare crows from a corn-field. 

In the archives at the State House is preserved the 
original muster-roll of the company which marched from 
Dover on April 19, under Captain Battle. 

The roll is given in full, with the name of each man, 
number of miles travelled, and days' absence, be- 
cause it speaks more eloquently of the patriotism of 
our fathers than any words that will ever be spoken 
in their praise. 



A ROLL MADE UP BY CAPT. EBENEZER 
THE FOURTH PARISH, FROM APRIL 

1775- 

Name. 

Ebenezer Battle 
Daniel Whiting 
John Battle 
James Cheney 
Joseph Fisher 
Jesse Knap 
Jabez Baker 
Theodore Newell 
John Chickering 
Ebenezer Richards 
Moses Richards 
Hezekiah Battle 
Samuel Richards 
David Cleveland 
Thomas Gardner 
Henry Tisdale 
Nathan Metcalf 
Aaron Fairbanks 
Jeremiah Bacon 
Asa Mason 
William Fisher 



BATTLE, OF DEDHAM, 
19 TO DECEMBER 20, 



Dignity. 

Capt. 
1st Lieut. 
2d - 
Sargent 



Corporal 



Fifer 
Private 



Miles. 
40 
40 
40 
40 
40 
40 
40 
40 
40 
30 
40 
40 
40 
40 
40 
40 
40 
40 
40 
40 
40 



Days. 

8 
6 
3 



6 

4 
12 

3 

4 

4 

10 

4 
3 



6 
13 

4 



SPRINGFIELD PARISH IN THE REVOLUTION 95 



Name. Dignity. 


Miles. 


Days. 


James Mann Private 


40 


7 


Elias Haven " 


40 


I 


Ebenezer Battle, Jr. 


40 


8 


John Cheney " 


40 


II 


Jabez Whiting " 


. 40 


8 


Luke Dean " 


40 


9 


Joseph Chickering " 


40 


4 


Daniel Chickering " 


30 


4 


Elias Stimson " 


40 


6 


Moses Bacon " 


40 


7 


Josiah Battle " 


40 


7 


John Ellis " 


30 


I 


Josiah Bacon, Jr. 


40 


12 


Seth Wight 


40 


5 


Ephraim Bacon, Jr. " 


30 


4 


Moses Mason " 


40 


3 


John Mason " 


40 


8 


William Mansfield " 


40 


3 


Samuel Fisher " 


30 


6 


Richard Richards " 


40 


3 


Thomas Burridge " 


40 


5 


Joseph Draper, Jr. " 


40 


5 


Timothy Allen " 


40 


3 


Barach Smith " 


40 


2 


Thomas Ferrett " 


30 


2 


David Fuller 


40 


2 


Ephraim Wilson " 


40 


6 


Samuel Wilson " 


40 


4 


Joseph Parker " 


40 


9 


Silas Taft " 


40 


3 


Oliver Kenrick " 


40 


2 


Moses Draper " 


30 


4 


Aaron Whiting " 


40 


8 


Ebenezer Allen " 


30 


6 


Thomas Morse " 


40 


. 3 


Hezekiah Allen " 


30 


1 


Nathaniel Chickering " 


30 


2 



gO HISTORY OF DOVER 



Name. 


Dis'iity- 


Miles. 


Days. 


James Draper 


Private 


30 


I 


John Fisher 


" 


40 


ID 


Asa Richards 


" 


30 


2 


Solomon Richards 




30 


3 


Ralph Day 


" 


40 





Daniel Chickering 


" 


40 


3 


John Draper 


(( 


30 


I 


Eben Smith 


" 


30 


2 



It will be observed that the members of this company 
were absent from one to thirteen days, but a majority 
of them returned in less than a week to tell of the 
flight of the British and of their eager pursuit. After 
the battle of Lexington men crowded the road to Bos- 
ton, anxious to do service ; but no army was created for 
the war. Enlistments were made for eight months. 

The battle of Bunker Hill is of peculiar interest to 
the people of this parish, as seventeen residents took 
part in the battle, under Capt. Daniel Whiting, as fol- 
lows : Luke Dean, Samuel Chickering, Lemuel Her- 
ring, Samuel Wilson, Jesse Knapp, Joseph Draper, 
Moses Draper, Petetiah Herring, Thomas Morse, 
Aaron Whiting, Hezekiah Battle, James Gay, Ebene- 
zer Gay, Joseph Smith, Josiah Richards, Nathan Cook. 
Daniel Fuller, a lad of fifteen years, was a drummer- 
boy ; and tradition has it that he was in the battle in 
Captain Whiting's company. 

Captain Whiting's company consisted of fifty-six 
men, and was a part of Col. Jonathan Brewer's regi- 
ment, which consisted of three hundred and seventy- 
seven soldiers. Colonel Sweet states that this regiment 
went on three hundred strong, but the Revolution 
depositions state one hundred and fifty. It is known 



SPRINGFIELD PARISH IN THE REVOLUTION 97 

that Daniel Whiting's company took part in the battle. 
Brewer's regiment was placed, says Frothingham in his 
" Siege of Boston," ' on the diagonal line between the 
breastwork and rail-fence. Seven men of the regiment 
were killed and eleven men wounded. Little is given 
in detail of this regiment ; but it is said that the officers 
conducted themselves with great bravery, and that 
Colonel Brewer was often consulted by Prescott. 

The following is related by the eldest daughter^ of 
Captain Whiting, — a strong poetic touch concerning 
the battle of Bunker Hill : " The year of the battle 
my father and I were rowed over in a ferry-boat from 
Boston to Charlestown, that he might show me where 
the battle was fought. In ascending the hill I was sur- 
prised to observe the singular appearance of the grass, 
as it grew in spots and lines exceedingly high and rank. 
'Those places,' said my father, 'that seem enriched by 
little streams of water are made verdant by the blood of 
the slain.' " 

Many sons and daughters of the Revolution in this 
place trace their lineage to those who took part in this 
famous battle. The epitaph on the gravestone of Aaron 
Whiting in Dover cemetery thus refers to his having 
been in the battles of Lexington and Bunker Hill : — 

" Reader, beneath this stone a patriot's ashes lie, 
One who raised our country's flag on high 
At Lexington and Bunker's bloody fight, 
When struggling hard for freedom's holy right." 

As already shown, the army was enlisted for an eight 
months' service. When Washington took command of 

' Page 1S2. 2 ]\jrs. Artimas Woodward. 



98 HISTORY OF DOVER 

the army, in July, 1775, there were sixteen thousand 
seven hundred and seventy men surrounding Boston 
and Charlestown. Washington immediately made him- 
self familiar with his army. It is said that the enthu- 
siasm of the soldiers was unbounded, but during the 
fall it waned. Redoubts and breastworks had been 
thrown up. From time to time some wer« killed 
and others wounded, yet this was not war. They 
were encamped in huts made of logs, stones, branches, 
etc., in the midst of pleasant fields and grateful shades ; 
but as winter approached they grew tired of this life. 
They were poorly clad, and suffered for want of proper 
food and fuel with which to cook it. Under these 
circumstances Washington soon saw that a new army 
must be raised. The year 1776 opened with a new 
army. The bravest and most patriotic of the old army 
formed the nucleus of the new ; and of our brave soldiers 
we find Capt. Ebenezer Battle at the head of a company 
of thirty-two men, all from Dover except three, with 
Jesse Knapp as first lieutenant. After the new army 
had been organized, it was determined as soon as 
possible to drive the British from Boston ; but during 
the winter the council of war recommended no action. 
In February, Washington stated that two thousand of 
his men were without fire-locks, and that he was obliged 
to conceal the state of his army even from his own 
officers. At a council of war held February 16, 1776, 
it was decided that a cannonade and bombardment of 
Boston should be made as soon as a sufficient supply of 
powder was received, and that preparation should be 
made to take possession of Dorchester Heights and 
Noddle's Island if circumstances admitted, in order to 



SPKINGFIEL'D PARISH IN THE REVOLUTION 99 

draw out the enemy. On the night of March 4, while 
the attention of the British was taken up by a severe 
cannonade, General Washington marched to take pos- 
session of Dorchester Heights, overlooking the harbor. 
During the night two forts were sufficiently advanced to 
form a protection against small arms and grape-shot. 
Heath wrote, " Perhaps there never was as much work 
done in so short a time." On the morning of March 5, 
the anniversary of the Boston massacre, the British 
were surprised to behold the redoubts that had been 
thrown up during the night. " The rebels have done 
more in one night than my whole army could have done 
in a month," remarked General Howe. 

As these works commanded both the harbor and the 
town, and as General Howe was thwarted in his plans 
to attack them on the morning of March 7, he deter- 
mined to evacuate the city ; and Washington, although 
disappointed in not having an engagement, had the 
proud satisfaction of seeing General Howe, after all his 
proud boasting, evacuate the city and sail away with his 
troops. Thomas Larrabee was in Boston when the 
British evacuated the city, and was one of a company of 
young men who swapped tobacco with British soldiers 
as they marched down the street to embark. 

• A British officer wrote, concerning the wonderful 
work of fortifying Dorchester Heights, "They raised 
the forts with an expedition equal to that of the genie 
belonging to Aladdin's wonderful lamp." This work 
compelled the British to evacuate Boston. Forty- 
four men from this parish engaged at Dorchester : 
Capt. Ebenezer Battle, Jesse Knapp, Asa Mason, 
Joseph Fisher, Asa Richards, Aaron Fairbanks, Heze- 



lOO HISTORY OF DOVER- 

kiah Battle, Joseph Parker, Samuel Chickering, Solo- 
mon Richards, Thomas Gardner, Josiah Battle, Moses 
Richards, Ephraim Wilson, Jabez Whiting, Richard 
Richards, Josiah Richards, Barach Smith, James Gay, 
Luke Dean, Elias Stimson, Nathan Cook, Joseph 
Smith, Samuel Farrington, Samuel Wilson, Moses 
Bacon, Nathaniel Metcalf, Jesse Ellis, John Mason, 
Thadeus Richards, William Fisher, Ebenezer Gay, 
Eleazer Allen, Jeremiah Bacon, Ebenezer Battle, James 
Draper, Ebenezer Richards, Henry Tisdale, Timothy 
Allen, Josiah Bacon, Jr., John Chickering, James Mann, 
Ebenezer Smith, Aaron Whiting. 

The parish thus had an honorable part in gaining the 
first great military operation of the Revolutionary War 
at Dorchester Heights, by which Massachusetts was 
delivered from the invasion of an army consisting of 
eleven thousand veteran British soldiers. 

In the spring of 1776, after the evacuation of Boston, 
Washington hastened with his army to New York ; and 
we find the Springfield Parish soldiers moving on to 
Ticonderoga and other points in New York. In after 
years, as they gathered round the tavern fire, they 
recalled, to the great delight of young men, their 
weary march and privations in the wilderness of Ver- 
mont. The original enlistment-sheet, which bears the 
signatures of our soldiers, is preserved in the State 
archives ; and, as illustrating the military requirements 
of the time, we give it in full : — 

We whose names are underwritten do hereby severally enlist 
ourselves into the service of the United American colonies, and 
severally promise and engage to continue in such service until the 
first day of December, 1776, unless sooner discharged, and to 



SPRINGFIELD PARISH IN THE REVOLUTION' lOI 

furnish ourselves each with a good effective firearm and, if 
possible, a bayonet fitted thereto, or in lieu thereof a hatchet or 
tomahawk, a cartridge box, knapsack, and blanket. We also in 
like manner promise and engage to obey all the lawful commands 
of the officers appointed or to be appointed over us pursuant to 
the Resolves of the General Court of the Colony of Massachu- 
setts Bay, under the direction of such officers to march with the 
utmost despatch to Charlestown in New Hampshire, and to be 
subject to all such rules and regulations, in every respect, as 
are provided for the Continental Army. Signed; Ezra Gay, 
Jonathan Whiting, Abijah Crane, Jesse Ellis, Lemuel Richards, 
Ichabod Farrington, Thomas Larrabee, Nathaniel Chickering, 
Samuel Chickering, Barach Smith, Ebenezer Gay, Nathan Cook, 
Thadeus Richards, Samuel Farrington, James Gay, Elias 
Stimson, Abner Nevers. 

In the memorable battle of Trenton, December 26, 
1776, we have a special interest, as Thomas Larrabee, 
of this parish, was one of the twelve men who rowed 
General Washington across the Delaware River. The 
password on that stormy day previous to the engage- 
ment was "Victory or death." The importance of 
this battle is not often emphasized. Abraham Lincoln, 
addressing the Senate of New Jersey in 1861, said : " I 
remember all the accounts given in Weem's ' Life of 
Washington,' of the battlefields and struggles for the 
liberties of the country ; and none fixed themselves upon 
my imagination so deeply as the struggle here at 
Trenton. The crossing of the river, the contest with 
the Hessians, the great hardships endured at that time, 
— all fixed themselves on my memory more than any 
single Revolutionary event. I recollect thinking then, 
boy even though I was, that there must have been 
something more than common that these men struggled 
for." 



I02 HISTORY OF DOVER 

In this contest Washington risked all, and gained the 
first real victory of the war of the Revolution. Before 
the battle Washington wrote his brother: "You can 
form no idea of the perplexity of my situation. No 
man, I believe, ever had greater choice of difficulties 
and less means to extricate himself from them." 

Washington moved with a detachment of the main 
army of twenty-four hundred troops. Each soldier had 
three days' cooked rations, and each carried forty 
rounds of ammunition. With this small army Washing- 
ton put the Hessians to flight. When the news of the 
surrender of Trenton was taken to Washington, he 
exclaimed, "This is a glorious day for our country!" 
while the colonial secretary of state of King George 
wrote, " All our hopes were blasted by that unhappy 
affair at Trenton." 

It was a glorious day for our country, for the Declara- 
tion of Independence was being made a reality. The 
soldiers, who had left the blood-stains of their bare feet 
by the way, felt encouraged, and the people inspired. 

The scene is thus described by George Hobart : — 

" One Christmas night, long years ago, 

When shrilly cold winds blew, 
And through the darkened air the snow 

On frozen pinions flew, 
A little band of patriot souls 

Stood, brave and fearless, where 
In iciness and anger rolls 

The fretful Delaware. 

" Nor ice, nor storm, nor cruel blast 
Can hold these heroes back : 
They have resolved, — the die is cast 
For Freedom's cause ! A track 



SPRINGFIELD PARISH IN THE REVOLUTION 103 

Of blood upon the snow they Ve left 

From shoeless feet and bare ; 
Of all life's comforts they 're bereft 

Beside the Delaware. 

" But ' Onward ! onward ! ' is the word 

Their brave commander speaks. 
When through the storm his voice is heard, 

Each son of Freedom seeks 
To do his bidding ; put aside 

Is every woe and care : 
There's vict'ry o'er the icy tide, 

Across the Delaware. 

" On through the gloomy, stormy night 

With hardships dire they cope, 
' For God, and Native Land, and Right ! ' 

Their watchword and their hope, 
Until at last, all cold and dank. 

They greet the morning's glare. 
Safe through the tide they've reached the bank, 

Across the Delaware." 

Thomas Larrabee was a member of General Wash- 
ington's body-guard, and his testimony confirmed the 
statements so often made regarding the general's quiet 
and dignified demeanor. Mr. Larrabee used to say that 
only once during a service of several years did he 
see General Washington laugh. This was when our 
boats were crossing the Delaware River. The first 
boat's crew did not estimate the strength of the current, 
and fell far below the landing-place ; while the second 
boat, which Washington occupied, through his accurate 
judgment and the strong arms of the boatmen was 
brought exactly to the landing. As Washington 
stepped upon the shore, he clapped his hands and 
audibly laughed. 



I04 HISTORY OF DOVER 

With all the trials and hardships endured at Valley 
Forge we have a lively interest, as Daniel Whiting, and 
perhaps others, shared the danger, the cold, the hunger, 
the privations, of that historic spot. The oft-repeated 
description of the Continental soldier applies perhaps 
as well to our men as to any other : — 

Who is this that toils up yonder hill, his footsteps stained with 
blood ? His bare feet peep through his worn-out shoes, his legs 
nearly naked from the tattered remains of an old pair of stock- 
ings, his breeches not enough to cover his nakedness, his shirt 
hanging in strings, his hair dishevelled, his face wan and thin, his 
look hungry, his whole appearance that of a man forsaken and 
neglected. 

Yet amid all this suffering their fortitude remained, 
and doubt did not shake their love of country. No 
more enduring example of devotion to duty can bcj 
found than that exhibited by the American yeoman of 
the Revolution. 

General Lafayette caused a fort to be built at Cherr} 
Valley, N.Y., the most important settlement in the 
eastern part of that State. In November, 1778, the 
village was attacked by a large force of Indians anc 
Tories, led by Walter Butler and Joseph Brant, the 
Mohawk chief. Col. Ichabod Alden, of Massachusetts,! 
was in command of the fort, with about two hundred] 
and fifty Continental troops. 

On November 8 Colonel Alden received word from I 
Fort Schuyler that the fort was about to be attacked. 
Daniel Whiting, of the Springfield Parish, was an officei 
under Colonel Alden. For several days previous to the 
attack Captain Whiting had traversed the land far and] 
wide to discover some trace of the Indians. On the] 



SPRINGFIELD PARISH IN THE REVOLUTION 105 

morning of November 11, 1778, Judge Wells, in whose 
house some of the officers lived, barely escaped an Ind- 
ian arrow. Captain Whiting ran to the fort, bolted the 
doors, and fired upon the pursuing foe. Colonel Alden, 
who remained long enough in the house to put on his 
boots, was struck down by an Indian tomahawk ; and 
Colonel Stacy was captured. When all attempts to 
gain the fort were found to be in vain, the Indians sur- 
rounded the house and perpetrated the most fiendish 
cruelties upon many of the inhabitants. 

One mother fled to the woods. With her babe in 
her arms, and her children around her, she lay through 
a cold stormy night under a log, where she heard the 
yells of the savages as they passed near her. Her hus- 
band, who was an officer in the fort, gained permission 
from Captain Whiting to send a small force, who at 
the risk of their lives succeeded in bringing her and 
the children safely back. 

Burgoyne's troops spent the early winter of 1777 in 
the environs of Boston ; and Lieut. Ebenezer Newell, 
Nathaniel Mellen, Joseph Cheney, and James Cheney 
enlisted for a five months' service in guarding these 
troops. They were paid by the town one hundred and 
twelve pounds for this service. 

As it was difficult to find men who were willing to 
enlist for a long or short service, September 27, 1777, 
the precinct chose a committee consisting of several 
men, with Lieut. David Fuller as chairman, to raise 
men to go into the army. 

Governor's Island in Boston Harbor was guarded for 
eight years, and was called the Castle.' During this 
time none were enlisted for a lonorer time than three 



io6 HISTORY OF DOVER 

months, although there were soldiers who remained 
during the entire time, re-enlisting every three months. 
Boston Harbor was thus guarded against the entrance 
of the foe. In the spring of 1778 we find Ellis Whit- 
ing, Michael Bacon, and Jonathan Battle engaged in 
this service. 

Roxbury was carefully guarded, and some may re- 
member the old forts which remained for many years 
as reminders of the siege of Boston. 

Among those who guarded fourteen days at Roxbury 
in 1778 are found the names of Capt. Ebenezer Battle, 
Barach Smith, Lieut. Asa Richards, Ebenezer Richards, 
John Cheney, Jeremiah Bacon, Jr., Adam Jones, Josiah 
Bacon, Jr., Stephen Gay, Josiah Battle, Samuel Farring- 
ton, Moses Bacon, John Chickering, Hezekiah Battle, 
Ebenezer Battle, Jr. 

Of those who guarded at Boston and Cambridge in 
1778 we find a smaller number. Roxbury being more 
accessible, they preferred to enlist for service there, but 
the roll bears the names of Stephen Gay, John 
Brown, Daniel Chickering, Jabez Whiting. 

In August, 1778, a plan was formed for an attack on 
the British forces in Rhode Island, who were under 
command of Sir Robert Pigott. He had his head- 
quarters at Newport, which was protected by batteries 
and a small naval force. About six thousand men were 
stationed about the island. 

In the vicinity of Providence, Barach Smith, Ebenezer 
Richards, Jeremiah Bacon, Jr., Josiah Bacon, Jr., Joseph 
Battle, and Moses Bacon were stationed. 

It was planned' that the Americans should approach 
Newport by land, while the fleet of D'Estaing, which 



SPRIXGFIELD PARISH IN THE REVOLUTION 107 

had arrived, should force its way into the harbor. This 
plan was not carried out — by concerted action. Gen- 
eral Sullivan marched from Providence ; and the British, 
fearful of being cut off, evacuated these works on the 
north and went to Newport. General Sullivan now 
gathered an army of ten thousand ; but the French fleet, 
failing to take part in the engagement, were obliged to 
retreat, leaving the British in possession of southern 
Rhode Island. Of those who engaged in this contest 
in Rhode Island in 1778 we find the following names 
from this precinct : Lemuel Herring, David Chickering, 
Jr., Ellis Whiting, David Richards, Joseph Bacon, Silas 
Bacon, and Jabez Whiting. 

There are those living ' who recall Thomas Larra- 
bee's account, as an eye witness, of the execution of 
Major Andre, for whom the Americans had much 
sympathy, as he was brought to his ignoble death 
through connivance with the traitor Arnold. Mr. Larra- 
bee used to repeat Washington's words when besought 
by Andre to be allowed to die as a soldier rather than 
as a criminal, " You were taken as a spy, tried as a spy, 
and you shall die as a spy." 

One verse from Willis beautifully describes Major 
Andre's request : — 

Thine is the power to give. 

Thine to deny 
Joy for the hour I Hve, 

Calmness to die. 
By all the brave should cherish, 

By my dying breath, 
I ask that I may perish, 

By a soldier's death. 

' Stephen Pettengill, Needham. 



io8 HISTORY OF DOVER 

The daughters of the Revolution contributed their 
part in the manufacture of blankets, shirts, and stock- 
ings, which were in frequent demand to meet the 
parish's quota in supplying the Continental Army. The 
following supplies were furnished by the residents of 
this parish in i/Sr. The price indicates the value of 
Continental currency at this time : — 

£. s. d. 

Eleazer Allen, 8 shirts for army 48 

John Jones, 3 pairs of stockings 18 

Joseph Haven, 2 pairs of socks 12 

Joseph Draper, 1 pair of socks 69 

Timothy Allen, i pair of socks 6 

Ebenezer Smith, 16 pairs of shoes 8 

James Draper, stockings 24 

Capt. Ebenezer Battle, 16 pairs shoes 8 

Ebenezer Battle, 5 pairs of socks i 10 

Ebenezer Newell, 4 blankets and travelling expenses . 619 
John Battle, 4 pairs socks and one dollar in cash ..28 

The extremest inflation of the Continental currency 
seems to have been reached in 1780, during which year 
Ebenezer Battle sold the selectmen of Dedham one 
horse for three hundred and fifty pounds ; Thomas 
Ockinton one horse, six hundred pounds ; Ebenezer 
Newell one horse, nine hundred pounds, — making a 
total of eighteen hundred and fifty pounds for three 
horses furnished for the use of the army. 

The history of Continental money is of interest : 
without it we cannot appreciate the difficulties with 
which the people were beset. In June, 1775, Congress 
voted that a sum not exceeding two million Spanish 
milled dollars be emitted in bills of credit for the 
defence of America, and that the colonies be pledged 



SPRINGFIELD PARISH IN THE REJ'OLCrriON 109 

for the redemption of these bills of credit. In Novem- 
ber three millions more were issued to meet the expense 
of the war. In February they granted five millions 
more, five millions in May, and five millions in July, — 
in all, twenty millions of dollars, all paper money, 
which became as worthless as an old scrap of news- 
paper. 

The demands were so great and money was so scarce 
that the scheme did not recommend itself either to 
speculators or the public. So matters went on until 
Continental money became valueless. The parish 
records show that a bill of £2, los., 7^d., received in 
1 78 1, was valued in Continental money as £,26, 15^. 
The depreciation in money was not as great in Massa- 
chusetts as in some States. 

This precinct raised, simply to meet the expense of 
committees and soldiers who served in the war from 
1776 to 1 78 1, ^^2,836, I3.y., 5^/. 

The Hon. Amos Perry, commenting on the records 
of Col. John Jones, relating to his " minits of marriage 
portions " given his daughters, extending over a period 
of more than a quarter of a century (1767-95), says: 

" The observance of a uniform standard of valuation 
caused serious difficulty in apportioning gifts in accord- 
ance with rules of justice applicable in such a family. 
One daughter received gifts valued at about three 
hundred and seventy-six pounds {1767). Another 
daughter's gifts were valued at about forty pounds 
(1783). Yet the latter daughter was probably served 
quite as well as the former. Twenty dollars was repre- 
sented as equivalent to forty-five pounds. The lowest 
value of a cow is four pounds, the highest thirty 
pounds." 



no HISTORY OF DOVER 

It must be borne in mind that this does not represent 
all our fathers did for American independence. They 
were residents of Dedham, and as such bore their share 
in all that was done by the town. Previous to 1777 
the town of Dedham raised and paid all its soldiers, 
but early in this year it voted a bounty of twenty-four 
pounds to each man who would enlist for three years, 
or during the war ; and it thus became necessary to 
reward all who were in the public service. As the town 
experienced difficulty in this, the parishes took the 
matter up and raised the money by taxation, hence the 
full record on the parish books of those who took part 
from 1777 to the close of the war. 

The appropriation for schools in the Springfield 
Parish in 1780 was ^{^ 1,4 18, 13^-., 3</. The people 
suffered from high taxation. The province tax in 
Dedham in 1778 was ^1,857, 13^-., \od., all of which 
had to be paid into the State treasury by the ist of 
October. 

The times were so hard during this period that the 
Rev. Mr. Caryl of his own will relinquished one-fifth of 
his meagre salary of J[,66, I'i^s., 4^., making a salary in 
these hard times of only £^l, 6s., 8d. ; and, before the 
war closed, the parish was obliged to raise in paying 
this salary four thousand pounds in Continental money, 
to meet the depreciation in currency. The parish 
raised in four grants three thousand eight hundred and 
fifty pounds, to meet the expenses of the war. 

In 1782 the parish met three obligations by voting 
H. Peters Allen, Nathan Draper, and Elijah Dewing 
" one cow or the value of a cow, to each of them one- 
third part, for engaging a limited time in the military 
service in the army." 



SPRIXGFIELD PARISH IX THE REVOLUTION m 

In August, 1777, the parish provided itself with fire- 
arms, that it might be ready for an emergency. Deacon 
Haven paid ;£i8, 15^. for five guns. There is no evi- 
dence that the guns were ever used, and the next year 
they were sold by the parish. The war^ at last was 
over. From the summit of many hills the people of 
Dover have witnessed the annual display of fireworks 
in the city of Boston, in commemoration of the Declara- 
tion of Independence ; but never have they gathered on 
our hill-tops in larger numbers or with greater joy and 
enthusiasm than on the evening of February 27, 1784, 
when the city celebrated the conclusion of peace and 
the establishment of a new nation. The financial 
straits of the people are well illustrated in the follow- 
ing petition of Daniel Whiting — a lieutenant-colonel 
in Colonel Nixon's regiment and the highest officer 
Dedham had in the Revolution — to the Massachu- 
setts General Court, made April 18, 1782, asking for 
aid in his distress : — 

Your petitioner hu}nbly shoiueih : 

That in April, 1775, he enlisted into the militia service of the 
State in defence of the lives, liberties, and property of the invaded 
and injured inhabitants of this part of North America, and con- 
tinued in the service of this and the United States of America, 
without intermission or impeachment, and to universal acceptance, 
until the close of the year 1 780, at which time the regiment was 
reduced, and your petitioner obtained a permission to retire from 
the army, to resume the care, education, and direction of his five 
motherless children, who were bereaved in his absence, in which 
time your petitioner sold his real estate and lent the whole pro- 
ceeds to this State, a very small part excepted, and for a consid- 
erable part of his wages while in service received depreciated 
notes, and for the last year's service, 1 780, has received no more 



112 HISTORY OF DOVER 

than three months' wages, the nominal sum in Continental paper 
money of the old emission, and when returning from the army 
was obliged to borrow money of an inhabitant at West Point to 
defray his expenses home, being in want of forage in the public 
stables, both which debts are now due from your petitioner, and 
he has received no allowance for the deficiency of forage, etc. 

And now all the estate of your petitioner that is not consumed 
by the mutation of the currency, etc., is in public securities; and 
his debts contracted for the support of his family, and some debts 
he owed before the war, — which he was not so unjust as to pay in 
paper currency, — -remain unpaid, and he is taxed and classed from 
time to time, and hath not wherewith to purchase or hire a 
place of residence for himself and family, and replace some nec- 
essary personal estate, and purchase some necessary provisions 
and clothing for upholding life. That he hath such public securi- 
ties and depreciated notes, one or more of which were due about 
a year ago, but cannot pay his debts or taxes with any of these, 
nor procure any necessaries of life upon these, nor obtain any 
money for services on said securities or depreciated notes without 
the aid of the Honorable Court. 

It is well known that many in this State who now retain their 
real estate in their own possession, never would lend the public 
any part of their property, nor perform any actual service in per- 
son, were at home with their families, took every advantage, and 
were increasing their substances, while your petitioner was in 
many perils in the Indian country and other parts, many times 
without any food, tent, barrack, or covering at the same time. 
And they even now have recourse to complaint of oppression, 
injustice, etc. 

All your petitioner hath is in the hands of this Commonwealth. 
Might he, shall he, pay all debts, charges, taxes, etc., and not be 
able to obtain any part that is due to him, because the whole 
State is his debtor? If his securities were against individuals 
in private life, he would not so much deplore his circumstances. 
But your petitioner cannot anticipate the thought that when the 
whole Commonwealth or United States are justly indebted to him 
for his services and suffering in the army as well as the whole of 
his real estate, and himself and his children now are reduced to a 



SPRINGFIELD PARISH IN THE REVOLUTION 113 

great strait, and not for the want of charity or a gift, but equi- 
table payment of part of his just dues, the Honorable Court will 
treat his petition with any degree of neglect. 

Therefore your petitioner prays this Honorable Court to take 
his very singularly distressing circumstances into consideration 
and order one or more of his said notes to be paid, and part 
of his last year wages, and as in duty bound shall ever pray. 

{Signed) Daniel Whiting. 

The student of history will find that it was to reward 
and to meet the obligations of the new government to 
such men as Daniel Whiting that the Ohio grant was 
made, the settlement of which led to the development 
of the great Northwest. 

In the darkest hours of the Revolution, General 
Washington, who was familiar with the country from 
having made surveys, cheered his officers with these 
words : " The extensive and fertile region of the West 
will yield a most happy asylum to those who, fond of 
domestic enjoyment, are seeking for personal indepen- 
dence." As early as 1783 officers of the Continental 
Army to the number of two hundred and eighty-five had 
petitioned Congress to allow them the tract of land 
which is now largely included in the territory forming 
the State of Ohio. This land was given in exchange 
for a million dollars of the evidence of public debt. 

This territory was known as the Northwest. Daniel 
Whiting received a grant, but through the fraudulent 
act of another it was lost to his family. 

Few relics of the Revolution remain in Dover. A 
musket carried at the battle of Bunker Hill still ex- 
ists, and many recall a wooden canteen which Thomas 
Larrabee used in the service, and a powder-horn which 



114 HISTORY OF DOVER 

bore the inscription, "Thomas Larrabee, his horn. 
Crown Point, 1760." There appears in one of the 
illustrations of this volume the picture of a harrow, 
still in existence, which was used on the Chickering 
farm during the morning of April 19, 1775, when word 
of the Lexington fight came. 

With all our fathers suffered it is well to remember 
the strict discipline of the Continental Army. The 
following extracts from the regimental order-book and I 
notes of John Pitman,' a native of Boston, who served 
in the army, illustrate this fact : — 

" The Cort Proseeded to the Trial of Magnes Noice Confin'd 
for Muteness & Bad and Disrespectful Language against his offi- 
cers And wisht one half of them in Hell. Said Noice pleads guilty 
& Bags the Marcy of the Coart. The coart Finds the prisonir 
Punashebel agreable to the 5th Artickel «& 18 section of the Ar- 
tickels of War. The Cort Considering the nature of his offence 
Do Order him to Receive Fifty Strips on his Naked Back." 

One Richard Seften, for sleeping away from his quarters and 
telling a "lye" to his captain about it, received fifty-nine lashes 
on his naked back. Oliver Washburn had sixty-nine lashes for 
being drunk. Mark Cargedd had thirty-nine for not answering 
roll-call. For selling a leg of mutton to a man and stealing it 
back again twenty-five lashes were given. If a soldier were found 
with his hat " uncockt," he was liable to be whipped. When the 
men appeared on parade with their " arms in bad order, their 
cloathing extremely durty & slovingly in their dress," minute 
details and orders were given about shaving, washing their faces 
and hands, the care of their clothes, of their tents, their bedding, 
their food. The " eting of frute " was forbidden, as was "going 
a swimming" or "drinking Cold water when hot." An officer 
was appointed whose sole business was to inspect " the manner of 
coucking & see that the men Boil or Make a Soop of their Meat 
which is Much More Conducive to health than the Idle Pracktice 
of Briling Meat which is strickly forbid." 

' New England Magazine, June, 1895. 







'f^' 



1 







F 




!ii 






1^'V'^ 





7:r-^.,r '■ 



CHAPTER IX. 

MILITARY SERVICES. 

Individual Records — Lexington Alarm — Dorchester 
Heights — Battle of Bunker Hill — Ticonderoga 
— Rhode Island — Castle Island — Boston — Cam- 
bridge • — ROXBURY. 

" When freedom from her mountain height 
Unfurled her standard to the air, 
She tore the azure robe of night 
And set tlie stars of glory there." 

Eleazer Allen, private, born August 21, 1740. 
Marched at the Lexmgton alarm, April 19, in Capt. 
Ebenezer Battle's company, w^as absent six days, and 
travelled 30I miles. Also served in fortifying Dor- 
chester Heights in 1776. 

Eleazer Allen, Jr., served at Boston seventy-five days, 
1778. 

Hezekiah Peters Allen, private in Major Heath's 
detachment of guards at Boston in 1779. Served at 
Castle Island in 1779, enlisted for six months' service 
in Continental Army in 1780, re-enlisted for three 
years' service in Continental Army in 1781. In 1781 
made application to the parish to be paid for his 
service. 

Hezekiah Allen, private, born April 15, 1724. 
Marched at the Lexington alarm, in Capt. Ebenezer 
Battle's company. He was absent one day, and trav- 
elled 30I miles. 



Ii6 HISTORY OF DOVER 

Timothy Allen, private, born August 28, 1746. 
Marched at the battle of Lexington, in Capt. Ebenezer 
Battle's company, was absent three days, and travelled 
40J miles. Also served in 1776 in fortifying Dor- 
chester Heights. 

Ephraim Bacon, Jr., private, born May 26, 1756. 
Marched at the Lexington alarm, in Captain Battle's 
company, was absent four days, and travelled 30I miles. 

Jeremiah Bacon, private, born August 24, 1729. 
Marched at the Lexington alarm, was absent six days, 
and travelled 40! miles. He was also sergeant in Cap- 
tain Guild's company at Dorchester Heights in 1776. 
Also served in Rhode Island in September, 1776. 

Jeremiah Bacon, Jr., guarded at Roxbury seventeen 
days, 1778. 

John Bacon, private, born April 17, 1722. Took part 
at Ticonderoga in 1776, serving in Captain Stow's com- 
pany. He guarded at Providence in 1778. 

Joseph Bacon served in Rhode Island in 1778. 

Josiah Bacon, private. Guard duty in Roxbury, 
1776. Marched on alarm at Rhode Island in August, 
1778. 

Josiah Bacon, Jr., private, born January 6, 1730. 
Marched at the Lexington alarm, was absent twelve 
days, and travelled 40I miles. He also served in forti- 
fying Dorchester Heights in 1776, and took part in 
Rhode Island in 1778, and did guard duty at Roxbury 
the same year. 

Michael Bacon, drummer. Castle Island nineteen 
days, 1776; Castle Island thirty-three days, 1778. 

Moses Bacon, private. Marched at the Lexington 
alarm, was absent seven days, and travelled 40I miles. 



MILITARY SERVICES \\^ 

He engaged in fortifying Dorchester Heights, did 
service at Castle Island in 1776 and guard dut)'' at 
Roxbury in 1778. 

Silas Bacon, private, born September 11, 1758. 
Served in Capt. Ebenezer Everett's company and 
Colonel Mcintosh's regiment. Marched on an alarm at 
Rhode Island, August i, 1778. 

Ebenezer Battle, born January 7, 1727-28, was cap- 
tain of the Dover company of minute-men, sixty-five of 
whom marched at the Lexington alarm, April 19, 1775. 
He served in the taking of Dorchester Heights, 1776 ; 
was commissioned captain May 10, 1776; served in 
Colonel Mcintosh's regiment, also Col. Jonathan Tit- 
comb's regiment ; was at Castle Island in i jy^, at 
Providence in 1777, at Roxbury in 1778 ; was made a 
second major in 1780. 

Ebenezer Battle, Jr., private, born February 4, 1754. 
Marched under his father at the Lexington alarm, was 
absent eight days, and travelled 40I miles. Also 
served at Providence in 1776, and at Roxbury in 1778. 

Hezekiah Battle, born January 12, 1758. Was a fifer 
in Capt. Ebenezer Battle's company, and marched at the 
Lexington alarm. He was absent three days, and 
travelled 40! miles. He engaged in fortifying Dorches- 
ter Heights, took part in the battle of Bunker Hill, and 
was at the siege of Boston, and also at Castle Island in 
1776, at Roxbury in 1778, and enlisted in the Conti- 
nental Army for nine months in i TJ^. 

John Battle, born October 11, 1741. Was second 
lieutenant in Capt. Ebenezer Battle's company at the 
Lexington alarm, April 19, 1775. He was absent six 
days, and travelled 40! miles. 



IlS HISTORY OF DOVER 

Jonathan Battle, private, born May 30, 1724. 
Guarded Governor's Island in 1778 for thirty-two days. 

Joseph Battle, born April 23, 1763, served in Rhode 
Island in 1778. 

Josiah Battle, private, born July 15, 1756. Marched 
at the Lexington alarm, was absent seven days, and 
travelled 40I miles. He engaged in fortifying Dorches- 
ter Heights, and did guard duty at Roxbury in 1778. 
He was also at Providence the same year, and enlisted 
for nine months' service in the Continental Army in 
1778. 

Jabez Baker, born December 9, 1737. Was a ser- 
geant in Capt. Ebenezer Battle's company, which 
marched at the Lexington alarm. He was absent 
twelve days, and travelled 40I miles. 

John Brown served at Castle Island in 1776, at 
Roxbury in 1778, also at Rhode Island in 1778. 

Thomas Burridge, private. Marched at the Lexing- 
ton alarm, was absent five days, and marched 40I miles. 

James Cheney, sergeant, marched at the Lexing- 
ton alarm under Capt. Ebenezer Battle, and was 
absent three days. Guarded Burgoyne's troops near 
Boston in 1777-7^. 

Joseph Cheney. Guarded Burgoyne's troops near 
Boston in 1777-7^. 

John Cheney, private, marched at Lexington alarm 
under Captain Battle, was absent three days, and 
travelled 40I miles. Was at Castle Island nineteen 
days, 1776, and did guard duty in Roxbury in 1778. 

Daniel Chickering, private, born December 30, 171 8. 
Marched at Lexington alarm under Captain Battle, was 
absent four days, and travelled 40! miles. Served at 



MILITARY SERVICES Iig 

Castle Island nineteen days, 1 776 ; on Capt. Ebenezer 
Battle's pay-roll, 1783; guarded at Cambridge in 1778. 

Daniel Chickering, Jr., private, born August 20, 1758. 
Marched at the Lexington alarm under Capt. Ebenezer 
Battle, was absent three days, and travelled 40I miles. 
He marched in the expedition to Rhode Island in 1778 ; 
Boston, twenty-six days, 1778. 

John Chickering, corporal, born August 24, 1744. 
Marched at Lexington alarm under Captain Battle, was 
absent six days, and travelled 40I miles. Served at 
Dorchester Heights, guarded- at Roxbury in 1778. 

Joseph Chickering, private, born April 20, 1755. 
Marched at the Lexington alarm, in Captain Battle's 
company. He was absent four days, and travelled 40I 
miles. 

Nathaniel Chickering, private, born March 24, 1750. 
Marched under Captain Battle at the Lexington alarm. 
Was absent two days, and travelled 30! miles. He took 
part at Ticonderoga in 1776. 

Samuel Chickering, private, born March 18, 1722. 
Was in the battle of Bunker Hill in Brewer's regiment. 
He took part in fortifying Dorchester Heights. Was 
at Ticonderoga in 1776, and did guard duty at Boston 
in 1778. 

David Cleveland first served in the last French war. 
He marched at the Lexington alarm, being a private in 
Capt. Ebenezer Battle's company. Was absent four 
days, and travelled 40I miles. 

Nathan Cook, private, took part in fortifying Dorches- 
ter Heights. Was in the battle of Bunker Hill under 
Capt. Daniel Whiting. He served at Ticonderoga in 
1776, did guard duty at Roxbury, 1778, and entered the 
Continental Army. 



I20 HISTORY OF DOVER 

Abijah Crane, private, born March 20, 1761. Was 
under Capt. Timothy Stowe at Ticonderoga in 1776. 
Enlisted December 3, 1779, Continental Army, three 
years' service. 

Ralph Day, private, born June 19, 171 7. Marched 
at the Lexington alarm, April 19, 1775, under Captain 
Battle. He was absent two days, and travelled 40! 
miles. 

Luke Dean, private, born May 27, 1750, marched 
under Capt. Ebenezer Battle, at Lexington alarm. Was 
absent nine days, and travelled 405 miles. He took 
part in Brewer's regiment in the battle of Bunker Hill, 
also served in fortifying Dorchester Heights. He 
served in the army at the siege of Boston, and was 
a corporal of his company ; served eight months and 
twenty days in 1778. 

Elijah Dewing guarded in and about Boston in 1777. 

James Draper, private, born February 20, 1732-33. 
Marched at Lexington alarm under Captain Battle, was 
absent one day, travelled 30I miles. Also served at 
Dorchester Heights. 

John Draper, private. Marched at the Lexington 
alarm under Captain Battle, was absent one day, and 
travelled 30I miles. Guarded stores three months in 
1777; at Cambridge, 1778. 

Joseph Draper, Jr., private, born June 9, 1731. 
Marched at Lexington alarm under Captain Battle, was 
absent three days, and travelled 40I miles. 

Josiah Draper, private, born August 2, 1758. Took 
part in the battle of Bunker Hill in Brewer's regiment. 
Served in the army at the siege of Boston. 

Moses Draper, private, born February 9, 1754. 



MILITARY SERVICES 12 1 

Marched at Lexington alarm under Captain Battle, was 
absent four days, and travelled 30^ miles. He was in 
the battle of Bunker Hill in Brewer's regiment. 

Nathaniel Draper, private, born September 18, 1732. 
Entered the Continental Army, served from July 17, 
1780, to December 23, 1780. 

Jesse Ellis, sergeant, born October 25, 1740. Served 
in Capt. Ebenezer Battle's company one day, 1775 ; 
also at Dorchester Heights, and at Ticonderoga under 
Captain Stow in 1776. 

John Ellis, private. Marched at the Lexington alarm 
under Captain Battle, was absent one day, and travelled 
30t miles. 

Aaron Eairbanks, private. Marched at the Lexing- 
ton alarm under Captain Battle, was absent eight 
days, and travelled 40! miles. He also took part in 
fortifying Dorchester Heights. 

Aaron Farrington, born March 7, 1755. Did guard 
duty at or near Boston in 1778. 

Ichabod Farrington was at Ticonderoga in 1776 in 
Capt. Timothy Stow's company, and did guard duty in 
and about Boston in 1778. Enlisted in Continental 
Army for nine months in 1778. 

Israel Farrington, Jr., took part at Ticonderoga in 
1776, in Capt. Timothy Stow's company. 

Samuel Farrington, born October 4, 1730. Served 
under Captain Battle in fortifying Dorchester Heights, 
was at Ticonderoga in 1776, and did guard duty at 
Roxbury in 1778. 

Thomas Ferrett, private. Marched under Capt. 
Ebenezer Battle at the Lexington alarm, was absent 
two days, and travelled 405 miles. 



122 HISTORY OF DOVER 

lohn Fisher, private. Marched under Captain Battle 
at the Lexington alarm, was away ten days, and 
marched 40! miles. Was at Castle Island, 1776. 

Joseph Fisher, sergeant. Marched at the Lexington 
alarm under Captain Battle. Was absent eight days, 
and marched 40I miles. He engaged in fortifying 
Dorchester Hill. 

William Fisher, private. Marched at the Lexington 
alarm under Captain Battle, was absent four days, and 
travelled 40I miles. Served at Dorchester Heights, 
1776. 

Samuel Fisher, private. Marched at the Lexington 
alarm, was absent six days, and travelled 30I miles. 

David Fuller, private, born December 6, 1731. 
Marched at the Lexington alarm in Capt. Ebenezer 
Battle's company, was absent two days, and travelled 
40I miles. He served the parish on a committee to 
raise men to go into the army, and money to meet 
the expenses of the war. 

Daniel Fuller, born November 6, 1760. Did guard 
duty in 1778, for which his father received compensa- 
tion from the parish. Enlisted in Continental Army for 
six months, July 15, 1780. 

Thomas Gardner, private. Marched at the Lexing- 
ton alarm under Capt. Ebenezer Battle, was absent ten 
days, and travelled 40I miles. He took part in 1776 in 
fortifying Dorchester Heights. 

Ebenezer Gay, private. Served at the siege of Bos- 
ton. He took part at the battle of Bunker Hill in 
Brewer's regiment, served at Dorchester Heights, and 
later enlisted in Capt. Timothy Stow's company, and 
served at Ticonderoga in 1776 and at Providence in 



MILITARY SERVICES 123 

Ezra Gay, private, born February 19, 1721. 
Marched in the West Dedham company under Capt. 
Daniel Draper at the Lexington alarm. He travelled 
24 miles, and was absent two days. He served in 
Captain Stow's company at Ticonderoga in 1776. 

James Gay, private. Was at the siege of Boston. 
He took part in the battle of Bunker Hill, serving in 
Capt. Daniel Whiting's company in Brewer's regiment. 
Was at Dorchester Heights, and served at Ticonderoga 
in 1776 in Ephraim Wheelock's regiment; guarded in 
Boston three months, 1778. 

Stephen Gay, private, born August 20, 17 19. Did 
guard duty in Roxbury in 1778, at Dorchester in 1778. 
Enlisted in the Continental Army for six months in 
1780 and for three years in 1781. 

Elias Haven, private. Marched under Capt. Ebenezer 
Battle at the Lexington alarm, and was the only soldier 
from Dedham who was killed in the encounter. He 
was shot by a British soldier near the meeting-house at 
Arlington. 

Lemuel Herring, private. Marched at the Lexington 
alarm in Capt. David Fairbanks's company from West 
Dedham. He was absent two days, and received five 
shillings for his services. He engaged in the battle of 
Bunker Hill under Capt. Daniel Whiting, and was at 
the siege of Boston. He was at Ticonderoga in 1776, 
and served at Providence, R.L, in 1777, and in the 
Rhode Island expedition in 1778. 

Petitiah Herring, private, born September 16, 1721. 
Served in 1775 at the siege of Boston. He took part 
in the battle of Bunker Hill, being in Brewer's regi- 
ment. Guarded at Watertown in 1778. 



124 HISTORY OF DOVER 

Petitiah Herring, Jr., private, born March 28, 1750. 
Served for four months in the spring of 1776, at or 
near Boston. 

Adam Jones, born June 25, 1760. Did guard duty 
at Roxbury in 1778. 

Oliver Kenrick, private. Marched at the Lexington 
alarm in Capt. Ebenezer Battle's company, was absent 
two days, and travelled 40s miles. 

Jesse Knapp, sergeant. Marched at the Lexington 
alarm in Capt. Ebenezer Battle's company, was absent 
eight days, and travelled 40I miles. He was in the 
battle of Bunker Hill, serving in Capt. Daniel Whit- 
ing's company. He took part in fortifying Dorchester 
Heights, and was in the army at the siege of Boston. 

Thomas Larrabee, private. Took part at Ticon- 
deroga in 1776, and later entered the Continental 
Army. He did service in New Jersey, and guard duty 
in and about Boston in 1778. 

James Mann, private. Marched at the Lexington 
alarm under Captain Battle, was absent seven days, and 
travelled 40 miles. Served in fortifying Dorchester 
Heights. 

Asa Mason, lieutenant. Marched at the Lexington 
alarm under Captain Battle, was absent thirteen days, 
and travelled 40I miles. Served at Dorchester Heights 
and Castle Island in 1776. 

John Mason, private, born August 23, 1737. 
Marched at the Lexington alarm under Captain Battle, 
was absent eight days, and travelled 40! miles. Served 
at Dorchester Heights. 

Moses Mason, private, born March 11, 1752. 
Marched at the Lexington alarm under Captain Battle, 



MILITARY SERVICES 125 

was absent three days, and travelled 40f miles. Also 
served at Castle Island in 1776. 

William Mansfield, private. Took part at the battle 
of Lexington, serving in Capt. Ebenezer Battle's com- 
pany. He was absent three days, and marched 40^ 
miles. 

Nathaniel Metcalf, private, born May 29, 17 14. 
Marched at the Lexington alarm under Capt. Ebenezer 
Battle, was absent three days, and travelled 40! miles. 
He engaged in fortifying Dorchester Heights. 

Thomas Morse, private. Marched at the Lexington 
alarm under Capt. Ebenezer Battle, was absent three 
days, and travelled 40! miles. He took part in the 
battle of Bunker Hill, serving in Brewer's regiment, 
and was in the army at the siege of Boston. He did 
guard duty at Roxbury in 1778. 

Nathaniel Mellen guarded Burgoyne's troops near 
Boston for five months in 1777. 

Joseph Parker, private. Was in the battle of Lex- 
ington under Capt. Ebenezer Battle. He was absent 
nine days, and travelled 40! miles. He took part in 
fortifying Dorchester Heights, and was in the army at 
the siege of Boston. 

Ebenezer Newell, born October 18, 1736. Took an 
active part in the contest which led up to the Revolu- 
tion. He was a lieutenant in Capt. Joseph Guild's 
company of minute-men who marched from Dedham 
at the Lexington alarm. In 1776 he became a lieu- 
tenant in the first Boston regiment. He was at Fort 
Hancock on Cape Elizabeth, Maine. Guarded Bur- 
goyne's troops one hundred and fifty days, 1 777-7^- 

Theodore Newell, born May 20, 1744. Was a cor- 



126 HISTORY OF DOVER 

poral in Capt. Ebenezer Battle's company, which 
marched at the Lexington alarm, April 19, 1775. He 
was absent eight days, and travelled 40I miles. 

John Reed guarded stores fifteen days, and was paid 
for his services by the Parish. 

Asa Richards, private, born October 9, 1743. 
Marched April 19, 1775, in Capt. Ebenezer Battle's 
company of minute-men. He was absent two days, and 
travelled 30J miles. He engaged in fortifying Dorches- 
ter Hill, and was a lieutenant in a company which 
guarded Roxbury. 

Abijah Richards, private, born July 2, 1758. 
Guarded in and about Boston in 1777, enlisted in the 
Continental Army, was in camp near Valley Forge in 
1778. Thirteen months, five days' service. 

David Richards served in Rhode Island six months 
and ten days in 1778. 

Ebenezer Richards, corporal, born January 12, 171 8, 
son of James Richards. Marched at the Lexington 
alarm, April 19, 1775, under Capt. Ebenezer Battle. 
He marched 305 miles, and was away four days. He 
served at Dorchester Heights, and did guard duty at 
Roxbury and Providence. 

Jesse Richards, born September 28, 1762. Guarded 
in and about Boston in 1778. It will be observed that 
he was only sixteen years of age. 

Josiah Richards, born November 15, 1749. Enlisted 
in Capt. Daniel Whiting's company, April 24, 1775, for 
three months and fifteen days. He engaged in the 
work of fortifying Dorchester Heights, and took part in 
the battle of Bunker Hill. He is said to have fired 
twenty-four rounds, knocked down a British officer with 



MILITARY SERVICES 127 

the butt of his musket, and retreated, running directly 
over the body of General Warren. It is related of him, 
in Morse's Genealogy of the Richards Family, that one 
night, being on guard, Washington, to test his fidelity, 
as he was wont to do in other cases, appeared before 
him. Richards challenged with " Who comes there .'' " 
" A friend," replied Washington. " Friend, adv^ance 
and give the countersign." Washington gave the 
wrong name. " Stand," exclaimed Josiah, " the counter- 
sign is not right." " It is of no consequence," said 
Washington ; " I am your commander-in-chief and must 
pass, as I have important business." Josiah presented 
his bayonet, and told him if he advanced another step 
that he would run him through. Washington turned, 
went to the officer of the guard, took his name, and the 
next day sent for him, and clapped him on the shoulder, 
adding, " My good fellow, you were faithful and true 
last night ; and I will see that you are promoted." 

Lemuel Richards, born January 22, 1737. He was 
a lieutenant in Capt. Timothy Stow's company, in 
Col. Ephraim Wheelock's regiment, which was sta- 
tioned at Ticonderoga in 1776. He did other service 
in and about Boston in guard duty. He had previously 
served in the last French war. 

Moses Richards, corporal, born December 11, 1739. 
Marched at the Lexington alarm, in Capt. Ebenezer 
Battle's company. He was absent twelve days, and 
marched 40f miles. He engaged in the work of fortify- 
ing Dorchester Heights, and did service at Ticonderoga 
in 1776; also in the French war previous to the 
Revolution. 

Richard Richards, private, born December 5, 1749, 



128 HISTORY OF DOVER 

son of Capt. Thomas Richards. Marched at the Lex- 
ington alarm, April 19, 1775, in Capt. Ebenezer Battle's 
company. He was away three days, and marched 40a 
miles. He also took part in fortifying Dorchester 
Heights. 

Samuel Richards, private, born September 9, 1757, 
son of Samuel Richards. Marched at the Lexington 
alarm under Capt. Ebenezer Battle, was absent four 
days, and marched 40I miles. He was an apprentice in 
a bakery in Boston, and during the siege daily carried 
bread to the British troops. 

Solomon Richards, private, born October 21, 1751. 
Was for many years commander of a company of 
cavalry. He marched at the Lexington alarm under 
Capt. Ebenezer Battle. He was absent three days, and 
marched 30I miles. He engaged in fortifying Dor- 
chester Heights. He was a lieutenant in Ephraim 
Wheelock's company at Ticonderoga, 1776. 

Thadeus Richards, corporal, born November 14, 
1747. Served at Dorchester Heights, and entered 
Captain Stow's company in Col. Ephraim Wheelock's 
regiment, and was at Ticonderoga in 1776. Guarded 
fifteen days in 1778. 

Barach Smith, private. Marched at Lexington alarm, 
in Captain Battle's company, and engaged in fortifying 
Dorchester Heights. Served at Ticonderoga in 1776, 
and did guard duty at Roxbury in 1778, also at Provi- 
dence in the same year. 

Ebenezer Smith, private, born February 26, 1747-48. 
Marched under Capt. Ebenezer Battle at Lexington 
alarm, was absent two days, and travelled 30I miles. 
Served at Dorchester Heights in 1776. 



MILITARY SERVICES 1 29 

Joseph Smith, born August 25, 1746. Took part at 
the battle of Bunker Hill in Brewer's regiment, and also 
served in fortifying Dorchester Heights. He was in 
the army at the siege of Boston. 

Elias Stimson, private. Took part at the battle of 
Lexington, serving in Capt. Ebenezer Battle's company, 
was absent six days, and travelled 40^ miles. He 
engaged in fortifying Dorchester Heights, and was at 
Ticonderoga in 1776 under Captain Stow. Served in 
Rhode Island in 1778. 

Silas Taft, private. Marched under Captain Battle 
at the Lexington alarm, was absent three days, and 
travelled 40^ miles. Served in Rhode Island in 1780. 

Henry Tisdale, private. Marched at the Lexington 
alarm in Captain Battle's company. He was absent 
four days, and travelled 40| miles. Also served at 
Dorchester Heights. 

Aaron Whiting, born in 1745. Marched at the Lex- 
ington alarm under Captain Battle. When the call was 
given he was ploughing in the field. He left the 
plough in the furrow, and the oxen to be unyoked and 
driven to pasture by his wife. April 24, 1775, he 
entered Capt. Daniel W'hiting's company in Colonel 
Brewer's regiment as a sergeant, and served thirteen 
months and fifteen days. He took part in the battle of 
Bunker Hill. He stood beside his brother-in-law, Elias 
Haven, when he was shot down at Arlington, April 19, 
1775. During 1776 Mr. Whiting was a member of 
Capt. Timothy Stow's company, and was at Ticonderoga. 
Marched to Dorchester in first Dedham company on 
the alarm, March 4, i yj^. Was appointed an ensign in 
Jonathan Brewer's regiment, but owing to the confusion 



130 HISTORY OF DOVER 

that took place June 17, 1775, was not commissioned. 
He was later recommended to be commissioned by 
General Washington. 

Daniel Whiting, born February 5, 1732-33. Served 
as first lieutenant in Captain Battle's company of 
minute-men at the Lexington alarm. April 24, 1775, 
he was made a captain in Colonel Brewer's regiment, 
and took part in the battle of Bunker Hill. January i, 
1776, he entered Colonel Alden's battalion, and. on the 
death of that brave commander at Cherry Valley, 
November 10, 1778, took command of the forces. 
November 6, 1776, he was made a major in Col. Asa 
Whitcomb's regiment, and served until December 31, 
1776, at Ticonderoga. On January i, 1777, he entered 
the Continental Army in Colonel Brooks's regiment and 
served three years. September 29, 1778, he w^as made 
a lieutenant-colonel in the Sixth Regiment, and served 
until December 31, 1779. On January i, 1780, he 
entered Colonel Nixon's regiment, and served until 
1 78 1. Before the Revolution he served in the French 
and Indian War. He was in William Bacon's company 
from Dedham at Crown Point in 1755. 

Ellis Whiting, born September 29, 1760. Engaged 
in the Rhode Island expedition in August, 1778. Also 
served at Governor's Island in 1778. 

Jabez Whiting, private, born January 11, 1758. 
Marched at the Lexington alarm under Captain Battle, 
was absent three days, and travelled 40| miles. He 
engaged in fortifying Dorchester Heights, and was in 
the Rhode Island expedition in 1778, and served in 
Roxbury in 1778. 

Jonathan Whiting, born April 13, 1731. Served at 



MILITARY SERVICES 131 

the Lexington alarm in Capt. William Ellis's company 
of Dedham, enlisted in the army, and served at Ticon- 
deroga in 1776. 

Ephraim Wilson, private, born January 18, 1737. 
Marched at the Lexington alarm, was absent six days, 
and travelled 40I miles in Captain Battle's company. 
He served under Captain Battle in fortifying Dor- 
chester Hill. 

Samuel Wilson, private, born April 25, 171 8. 
Marched at the Lexington alarm, was absent four days, 
and travelled 40I miles. He engaged in the battle of 
Bunker Hill in Brewer's regiment, and served at the 
siege of Boston. Also engaged in fortifying Dorchester 
Hill. 

Seth Wight, Jr., private. Marched at the battle of 
Lexington under Capt. Ebenezer Battle, was absent 
four days, and travelled 40I miles ; was hired by the 
Medfield Selectmen to re-enforce the army at or near 
New York in December, 1776. 



CHAPTER X. 

MILITARY SERVICES — Continued. 

Shays's Rebellion — Difficulty in Raising Soldiers — 
Second War with Great Britain — Ports blockaded 
— Service of Dover Soldiers — Militia — Service of 
Dover Officers in the Militia — Memorial Day. 

Wake in our breasts the living fires, 
The lioly faith that warmed our sires. 
Thy hand hath made our nation free : 
To die for her is serving tliee. 

— Holmes. 

Residents of Dover must have taken part in main- 
taining in the western part of the State the supremacy 
of the law in what is called " Shays's Rebellion," as the 
State made a requisition for soldiers in December, 
1786 ; but no record has been found of her service. 

After the close of the Revolutionary War it was not 
easy to hire soldiers ; and it was with difficulty that the 
quota of the town was raised to meet the demands of an 
army of eighty thousand soldiers, which was created by 
Congress in 1 794. 

The soldiers demanded twelve dollars a month, with 
he assurance of good money, and two dollars as at 
bounty for enlisting. This demand was rejected; and 
it was voted "to make up the soldier's pay, with the 
Continental, to three pounds a month, and one dollar as 
a bounty." 

Under these conditions it was most difficult " to hire 
soldiers to go into the service of the United States and 



MILITARY SERVICES 133 

Stand ready to march at a minute's warning." Later 
in the year the district was petitioned " that more 
money may be granted to make the soldiers volunteer." 

The War of 1812 was far from being popular in 
eastern Massachusetts. Nevertheless, the people were 
patriotic enough to supplement the pay of the United 
States government, as a vote passed in 1807 shows: 
♦'Voted to pay the militia which was detached to be in 
readiness to march at a moment's warning, in addition 
to government pay, the sum of four pounds a month 
after they are called upon to march into actual service." 
Few could be induced to enter the service. 

As the eastern ports were blockaded, many residents 
engaged in transporting merchandise overland with 
ox-teams from Boston to New York and other cities. 
The round trip to Philadelphia occupied six weeks in 
all. 

Among those who engaged in this service were 
James Tisdale, Draper Smith, Aaron Draper, Arnold 
Wight, Joseph Larrabee, and Calvin Newell. 

Aaron Whiting accompanied an expedition to Albany, 
loaded with gunpowder ; and, as the wagon-wheels were 
fitted to wooden axle-trees, they had to be constantly 
watched and often greased lest friction should set fire 
to the load. The company often passed the night in 
the wilderness sleeping under their wagons ; and Mr. 
Whiting never forgot the howling of the wolves, which 
sounded so fearful to his young ears in the Becket 
woods. 

Joseph Larrabee went with others to New Jersey, 
loaded with silk and velvet. While travelling through 
Connecticut on Sunday, they were stopped by an ofiEicer 



134 



HISTORY OF DOVER 



of the law, who commanded them to put up their teams. 
A spokesman explained to the officer that if detained 
they should hold the town responsible for the cargo 
in case anything befell it. Learning the value, which 
was placed at ten thousand dollars, they were instructed 
to pass on to the next village. 

Mr. Larrabee was fond of describing the ferry-boat 
which in those days plied across the Hudson River. It 
was propelled by a horse attached to a long beam which 
moved round and round like an old-fashioned cider-mill. 

As far as known the following is the service of Dover 
soldiers in the war of 1812 : — 

Ebenezer Wilkinson, drafted into the service. 

George Fisher, captain of a company in Colonel 
Page's regiment, Massachusetts Militia, from August 2 
to October 2, 18 14. 

Daniel Fuller, captain of a company in Lieut.-Col. 
James Appleton's regiment, Massachusetts Militia, from 
September 19 to October 12, 1814; private in Capt. 
Seth Hamlin's company, Lieut.-Col. David Nye's regi- 
ment, from January 28 to January 31, 1814. 

Fisher Ayers, private, Capt. George Fisher's com- 
pany, Colonel Page's regiment, Massachusetts Militia, 
from August 2 to November 3, 18 14. 

After the passage by Parliament, in 1774, of the 
several bills which were so obnoxious to the people 
of Massachusetts, including the nullification of their 
charter, correspondence was opened with other colonies, 
and a militia was organized in case the British should 
resort to force. 

Capt. Ebenezer Battle was at the head of the Dover 
company. So the history of our militia goes back to 



MILITARY SERVICES 135 

this time, and the names of the early members are 
found in the Hst of those who took part in the battle 
of Lexington. 

The militia laws of Massachusetts go back to the 
adoption of the Constitution of the Commonwealth, 
which went into effect October 25, 1780. 

These laws were somewhat modified in 1793, and 
made to conform to the laws of Congress enacted in 
1792. Military companies were organized throughout 
the State ; and Dover, like other places, had its military 
organization. 

In the words of the law every able-bodied white male 
citizen was " required to be constantly provided with a 
good musket or firelock, a sufficient bayonet and belt, 
two square flints and a knapsack, a pouch with a box 
therein to contain not less than twenty-four cartridges 
suited to the bore of his musket or firelock, each car- 
tridge to contain a proper quantity of powder and ball, 
or with a good rifle, knapsack, shot-pouch, and powder- 
horn, twenty balls suited to the bore of his rifle, and a 
quarter of a pound of powder, and shall appear so 
armed, accoutred, and provided when called out to ex- 
ercise, except, when called out on company days to 
exercise only, he may appear without knapsack. Com- 
missioned officers shall be severally armed with a sword 
or hanger and esponton." The following appear as 
commissioned officers of the militia: — 

Hezekiah Allen, ensign. First Regiment, Second Bri- 
gade, First Division, March 16, 1789. 

Jared Allen, lieutenant, cavalry, Second Brigade, 
First Division, May 2, 181 5. 

Perez Allen, lieutenant. First Regiment, Second 



,36 HISrOKY OF DOVER 

Brigade, First Division, May 12, 1797; promoted cap- 
tain, First Regiment, Second Brigade, First Division, 
May 5, 1801. 

Timothy Allen, Jr., ensign. First Regiment, Second 
Brigade, First Division, May 6, 1 806 ; promoted cap- 
tain, First Regiment, Second Brigade, First Division, 
March 26, 18 10. 

Horace Bacon, ensign, First Regiment, Second Bri- 
gade, First Division, May 18, 1813 ; promoted lieuten- 
ant. First Regiment, Second Brigade, First Division, 
July 31, 181 5 ; discharged September i, 18 18. 

Silas Bacon, lieutenant, First Regiment, Second Bri- 
gade, First Division, March 16, 1789 ; promoted captain, 
First Regiment, Second Brigade, First Division, May 3, 
1796. 

Eleazer Battle, ensign. First Regiment, Second Bri- 
gade, First Division, May 3, 1826 ; discharged April 24, 
1840. 

Eleazer Battle, captain. Eighth Company, First 
Regiment; promoted colonel, First Regiment, July i, 
1781. 

Hezekiah Battle, ensign, First Regiment, Second Bri- 
gade, First Division, May 16, 1789; promoted lieuten- 
ant. First Regiment, Second Brigade, First Division, 
May 3, 1796; promoted captain. First Regiment, Sec- 
ond Brigade, First Division, May 12, 1797. 

Jonathan Battle, ensign. First Regiment, Second Bri- 
gade, First Division, May 3, 1796 ; promoted lieutenant. 
First Regiment, Second Brigade, First Division, May 
12, 1797. 

Josiah Battle, ensign. First Regiment, Second Bri- 
gade, First Division, February 4, 1787. 



MILITARY SERVICES 137 

Ralph Battle, paymaster field and staff, First Regi- 
ment, Second Brigade, First Division, April i, 1818 ; 
discharged May 30, 1823. 

Rufus Battle, ensign. First Regiment, Second Bri- 
gade, First Division, December 12, 1820; promoted 
lieutenant. First Regiment, Second Brigade, First Di- 
vision, March 24, 1823 ; promoted captain. First Regi- 
ment, Second Brigade, First Division, May 6, 1824; 
discharged April 26, 1826. 

William Blake, ensign, First Regiment, Second Bri- 
gade, First Division, April 15, 1833 ; promoted lieuten- 
ant. First Regiment, Second Brigade, First Division, 
May 3, 1836 ; discharged April 22, 1840. 

Uriah Brett, ensign. First Regiment, Second Brigade, 
First Division, December 30, 1818; promoted lieuten- 
ant, First Regiment, Second Brigade, First Division, 
December 12, 1820. 

John Burridge, lieutenant. First Regiment, Second 
Brigade, First Division, June 11, 1801 ; promoted cap- 
tain, First Regiment, Second Brigade, First Division, 
September 26, 1803 ; promoted major, First Regiment, 
Second Brigade, First Division, May 3, 1804. 

Obed Burridge, ensign, First Regiment, Second 
Brigade, First Division, June 11, 1801 ; promoted lieu- 
tenant. First Regiment, Second Brigade, First Division, 
September 26, 1803 ; promoted captain. First Regiment, 
Second Brigade, First Division, June 25, 1804. 

Charles Draper, cornet, regiment of cavalry, March 
5, 1821 ; promoted lieutenant, June 25, 1822 ; dis- 
charged March 4, 1826. 

Jesse Draper, cornet, regiment of cavalry, April 27, 
1807 ; discharged March i, 18 10. 



138 HISTORY OF DOVER 

Eleazer Ellis, major, Second Regiment, First Division, 
March 14, 1788. 

lienjamin Fairbanks, first lieutenant. First Regi- 
ment Cavalry, July i, 1781. 

Daniel Fisher, Jr., captain, First Regiment, Second 
Cavalry, July i, 1781 ; colonel. Second Regiment, First 
Division, March 14, 1788. 

George Fisher, ensign. First Regiment, Second 
Brigade, Urst Division, May 26, 18 10; promoted cap- 
tain. First Regiment, Second Brigade, First Division, 
May 5, 1 812; promoted major, May 30, 181 5, First 
Regiment, Second Brigade, First Division ; promoted 
lieutenant-colonel. First Regiment, Second Brigade, 
First Division, June 11, 18 16; promoted brevet-colonel, 
June 20, 1 8 16; discharged February 19, 1820. 

Daniel Fuller, ensign, F"irst Regiment, Second Bri- 
gade, First Division, June 8, 1818 ; promoted lieutenant, 
First Regiment, Second Brigade, First Division, Decem- 
ber 30, 1818; promoted captain. First Regiment, 
Second Brigade, First Division, December 12, 1820; 
discharged January 15, 1823. 

Jesse Gay, captain. First Regiment, Seventh Cavalry ; 
July I, 1 78 1, resigned. 

Daniel Lynn, lieutenant, First Regiment, Second 
Brigade, First Division, April 15, 1823; promoted cap- 
tain as a resident of Roxbury, May 3, 1836. 

Daniel Mann, lieutenant. First Regiment, Second 
Brigade, First Division, May 6, 1806; discharged 
March i, 18 10. 

Lorenzo Mann, ensign. First Regiment, Second 
Brigade, First Division, September 5, 1831 ; promoted 
captain. First Regiment, Second Brigade, First Division, 
April 15, 1833 ; discharged April 12, 1836. 



MILITARY SERVICES 139 

Willard Mann, ensign, First Regiment, Second 
Brigade, First Division, May 15, 1826; promoted lieu- 
tenant, First Regiment, Second Brigade, First Division, 
August 20, 1827; promoted captain. First Regiment, 
Second Brigade, First Division, September 5, 1831 ; 
discharged December 15, 1832. 

Daniel Morse, ensign. First Regiment, Second Bri- 
gade, First Division, June 25, 1807 ; promoted. 

Joseph Mudy, cornet, Regiment of Horse, First 
Division, August 24, 1788. 

Ebenezer Newell, first lieutenant, Eighth Cavalry, 
First Regiment, July i, 1781. 

Josiah Newell, Jr., cornet, cavalry Second Brigade, 
First Division ; ensign, First Regiment, Second Brigade, 
First Division, May 4, 1824 ; promoted lieutenant, First 
Regiment, Second Brigade, First Division, May 15, 
1826; promoted captain, First Regiment, Second 
Brigade, First Division, August 20, 1827; discharged 
May 30, 1 83 1. 

Reuben Newell, captain. Second Regiment, First 
Division, March 16, 1789; promoted major. Second 
Brigade, First Division, March 22, 1796. 

Lowell Perry, ensign. First Regiment, Second Bri- 
gade, First Division, July 31, 1815 ; promoted captain. 
First Regiment, Second Brigade, First Division, June 8, 
1818 ; discharged November 8, 1820. 

Asa Richards, second lieutenant. Eighth Cavalry, 
First Regiment, July i, 1781. 

Calvin Richards, cornet, cavalry Second Brigade, 
First Division, May 26, 18 10; promoted lieutenant, 
cavalry Second Brigade, First Division, April 13, 1812 ; 
discharged April 12, 181 5. 



I40 HISTORY OF DOVER 

Calvin Richards, Jr., ensign, First Regiment, Second 
Brigade, First Division, August 20, 1827; promoted 
lieu'tenant, First Regiment, Second Brigade, First 
Division, September 5, 1831 ; discharged December 15, 

1832. 

Luther Richards, cornet, cavalry Second Brigade, 
First Division, May 2, 181 5 ; promoted lieutenant, cav- 
alry Second Brigade, First Division, May 7, 18 16; 
promoted captain, cavalry Second Brigade, First 
Division, October 2, 1820; discharged June 27, 1821. 

Solomon Richards, second lieutenant, cavalry Second 
Brigade, First Division, September 24, 1793. 

William Richards, second lieutenant. Second Cav- 
alry, First Regiment, July i, 1781 ; promoted cornet. 
First Regiment, Second Brigade, June 25, 1822; 
promoted lieutenant. First Regiment, Second Brigade, 
April 15, 1824 ; discharged June 23, 1826. 

Ralph Sanger, chaplain, First Regiment, Second 
Brigade, First Division, April i, 1818, field and staff ; 
discharged May 30, 1833. 

Alexander Soule, ensign. First Regiment, Second 
Brigade, First Division, March 24, 1823 ; promoted lieu- 
tenant. First Regiment, Second Brigade, First Division, 
May 4, 1824; promoted captain, First Regiment, 
Second Brigade, First Division, May 15, 1826; dis- 
charged July 2, 1827. 

John Shumway, cornet, cavalry Second Brigade, 
First Division, June 15, 1818 ; promoted lieutenant, 
cavalry Second Brigade, First Division, October 2, 
1820; promoted captain, cavalry Second Brigade, First 
Division, June 25, 1822 ; discharged March 3, 1824. 

Lewis Smith, ensign, First Regiment, Second Bri- 



MILITARY SERVICES 141 

gade, First Division, September 26, 1803 ; promoted 
lieutenant, First Regiment, Second Brigade, First 
Division, June 25, 1804; promoted captain, First Regi- 
ment, Second Brigade, First Division, May 6, 1 806 ; 
discharged February 10, 18 10. 

Walter Stowe, ensign, First Regiment, Second 
Brigade, First Division, May 5, 1812 ; promoted lieuten- 
ant. First Regiment, Second Brigade, First Division, 
May 18, 18 13; promoted captain, First Regiment, 
Second Brigade, First Division, July 31, 181 5; dis- 
charged December 22, 18 19. 

Ebenezer Sumner, first lieutenant. Seventh Cavalry, 
First Regiment, July i, 1781. 

Billings Tisdale, lieutenant. Eighth Cavalry, First 
Regiment, February 4, 1787. 

Henry Tisdale, captain, Second Cavalry, First Regi- 
ment, September 18, 1788; captain. Regiment of 
Horse, Second Brigade, First Division, September 24, 

1793- 

James Tisdale, lieutenant, cavalry Second Brigade, 
First Division, May 26, 18 10; promoted captain, cav- 
alry Second Brigade, First Division, April 13, 1812 ; 
discharged April 12, 181 5. 

Jonathan Upham, lieutenant. First Regiment, Second 
Brigade, First Division, May 26, 18 10; discharged 
March 6, 18 13. 

John Williams, adjutant, First Regiment, Second 
Brigade, P'irst Division, field and staff, August 22, 
1804; discharged March 18, 1817. 

Amos W. Shumway, private in Putnam Grays of 
Medfield in 1839; third lieutenant, 1845; first lieuten- 
ant, 1846; captain, 1847. 



142 HISTORY OF DOVER 

John Battelle/ private, Putnam Grays, 1839; second 
lieutenant, 1845 ; captain, 1846. 

On the occasion of the first observance of Memorial 
Day, May 30, 1868, public exercises were held in the 
cemetery, consisting of a prayer by the Rev. George 
Proctor, the singing of patriotic songs, and the decora- 
tion of soldiers' graves. After this time the custom 
lapsed until May, 1876, when the Sunday-schools of the 
town united in a union service at the First Parish 
church, and then marched to the cemetery, where the 
soldiers' graves were decorated. The following year 
public exercises were held on Memorial Day at the 
Unitarian church, with addresses by citizens and the 
decoration of graves. The town did not make an ap- 
propriation for the observance of Memorial Day until 
1888, when fifty dollars was appropriated. 

Since that time yearly appropriations have been 
made, and an elaborate programme presented, with pub- 
lic exercises in the town hall. Appropriate markers 
have been placed on the graves of all Union soldiers 
and to some extent on the graves of soldiers of the 
Revolution. 

In recent years a part of the town appropriation has 
been expended in the purchase of markers ; and it is to 
be hoped that the work will be continued until every 
soldier's grave shall be suitably marked, including the 
soldiers of the War of 18 12. 

' Name changed from Kattle to Battelle by act of legislature in 1821. 



i 



CHAPTER XI. 

THE SECOND MEETING-HOUSE. 

Committee on New Meeting-house — Meeting-house 
BURNED — Selection of Grounds — Exchange of 
Land — Meeting-house patterned after Church in 
RoxBURY — Dedication — Method of Assessing Pews 
— Rules for Seating the Meeting-house. 

" We love the venerable house 
Our fathers built to God: 
In heaven are kept their grateful vows, 
Their dust endears the sod. 

" From humble tenements around 
Came up the pensive train, 
And in the church a blessing found 
Which filled their homes again.'' 

The thought of building a new meeting-house took 
shape in 1809, when the following committee was 
chosen by the district to ascertain the probable cost of 
building a new meeting-house : Capt. Samuel Fisher, 
Aaron Whiting, Henry Tisdale, Josiah Newell, John 
Brown, Josiah Battle, and Simeon Cheney. This proj- 
ect was precipitated, however, by the burning of the 
old meeting-house early in February of the next year. 
There had been a divided sentiment in the parish on 
the subject. As the minister of the society was in 
feeble health, the district still sparsely populated, and 
the people greatly scattered, the friends of the society 
in neighboring towns looked on the ruins of the old 
meeting-house with great anxiety, and feared the future 



144 HISTORY OF DOVER 

of the church. But the people were undaunted, and en- 
tered upon the building of a larger and better meeting- 
house with enthusiasm. A more desirable spot was 
wanted for the building, as a meeting-house facing the 
north was not favorable to the universal custom of the 
times in which the men congregated before the service 
in front of the church for a weekly interchange of news 
and a discussion of crops and the weather. It was not 
until the end of the first prayer that the men ceased 
their intercourse outside and filed into their pews. 
This practice was not for want of reverence, but met 
the peculiar conditions of their social life. 

A committee consisting of Capt. Samuel Fisher, 
David Cleveland, James Mann, Jesse Draper, Capt. 
Josiah Newell, Hezekiah Allen, and Ralph Day were 
authorized to select a site for the new meeting-house. 

The committee^ chose the present grounds of the 
First Parish, which contain one and a half acres. The 
report of the committee was accepted March 13, 18 10; 
and the selectmen were empowered by the district to 
receive the deed from Jonathan Upham, from whom 
the land was purchased. 

In the exchange of land Mr. Upham received one 
hundred dollars in addition to the land on which the 
first meeting-house stood. He also agreed to furnish 
the district with a plan for a new meeting-house. 
Having settled without difficulty upon the site, the 
people were ready to consider plans and appropriations 
for the new edifice. A great increase in population 
and wealth had been the dream of the people for many 
years, and an effort was made to build a meeting-house 
that would seat a large congregation. The plans pre- 



THE SECOiYD MEETIXG-HOUSE 145 

sented by Mr. Upham and accepted by the district 
seem to have been a modification of the plans of the 
meeting-house of the First Religious Society of Rox- 
bury, which was built in 1804, and is still standing in 
the middle of Eliot Square, Roxbury. The district did 
well in building a meeting-house after the plan of the 
edifice at Roxbury, as it is one of the most commodi- 
ous and beautiful of all the old meeting-houses in Mas- 
sachusetts. It is a tradition that Bulfinch, the archi- 
tect of the State House, had something to do with the 
plans. To-day it is perhaps the best specimen of a 
Puritan meeting-house remaining in New England. 

For the Dover meeting-house, built like it, the dis- 
trict voted to employ Capt. Elias Dunbar, of Roxbury, 
a man of large experience in building, to draw up the 
specifications ; and the selectmen were instructed to ad- 
vertise for bids. Six proposals were received from con- 
tractors, ranging from five thousand four hundred and 
fifty dollars to seven thousand two hundred and fifty 
dollars. None of the proposals were accepted, and 
Captain Dunbar became the builder of the meeting- 
house. Josiah Newell, Jesse Draper, and Daniel Mann 
had a general supervision of the work. An appropria- 
tion of fifty-five hundred dollars was at first made, 
which was increased by a grant of fifteen hundred dol- 
lars the next year. 

Like all public enterprises, the work at first went on 
but slowly. In July they were ready to begin the 
structure. Public exercises were held, probably con- 
ducted by the Rev. Mr. Palmer, of Needham, consist- 
ing of a prayer and the singing of an appropriate psalm. 
After the building was raised, the displacement of a 



1^6 HISTORY OF DOVER 

timber caused the whole frame to fall to the ground. 
This mishap was not only a cause of anxiety and 
trouble, but the district suffered a pecuniary loss. 
Captain Burridge, who was working on the building 
at the time, received injuries from which he suffered 
the remainder of his life. This accident, however, did 
not long delay the work, which went on rapidly ; and in 
eleven months the building was ready to dedicate. 

The new meeting-house had a large seating capacity. 
There were galleries on both sides, also in front, the 
latter being used by the singers. It was furnished with 
the conventional high pulpit of the period, of which 
Daniel Webster said, " One of the strongest arguments 
for the truth of Christianity was that it had survived 
the box pulpit." The underpinning was a fine piece of 
masonry, and was built of Ouincy granite, which was 
transported across the county by residents of the par- 
ish. The spire was furnished with a bell, which was 
purchased at an expense of four hundred dollars. The 
new meeting-house was a stately and beautiful building. 
Its fine proportions were thus referred to by the Rev. 
Mr. Noyes, of West Needham, — now Wellesley, — in 
his introductory remarks at its dedication : " It is with 
peculiar emotions of joy and satisfaction we hail this 
day, which presents to our view this stately edifice, 
which, like the ancient phoenix, has arisen from her 
ashes into beauty, order, and elegance." fl 

The imperfectness of church architecture in the last 
century is seen in the fact that this new and beautiful 
building, erected as late as 1811, for the purpose of 
public worship, had no means of heating, and the con- 
gregation in the inclemency of a New England winter 



i 



THE SECOXD MEETING-HOUSE 147 

was obliged to sit for hours on Sunday, and at all public 
meetings, in an unwarmed building. 

Of course, the woman's foot-stove came into use ; but 
at best it was of little service. So tenacious is custom 
that years afterwards, when stoves were first put into 
the meeting-house, the enterprise met with such strong 
opposition that they were removed, and did not have a 
permanent place until 1824, when the district chose a 
committee "to set up the stoves again." The new 
meeting-house was completed and ready for dedication 
in the early summer, but the thrifty farmers voted in 
district-meeting to put off the dedication " until after 
hay-time." 

This delay, however, did not meet the approval of the 
best citizens ; and another district-meeting was called by 
petition for June 6, 181 1, when it was voted "to dedi- 
cate the meeting-house five days later." A committee 
of five, in addition to the selectmen, were chosen to 
make arrangements for the dedication. As this was a 
district affair, it was an occasion of great importance, 
and was attended by a large number of people. 

The public exercises were arranged in accordance 
with the wishes of Mr. Caryl, the venerable minister of 
the society, who continued in such feeble health that he 
was never able to visit the new meeting-house. 

The Rev. Dr. Prentiss, of Medfield, made the prayer 
of dedication ; while the Rev. Stephen Palmer, of Need- 
ham, preached an eloquent sermon on the subject, 
" The glory of the second temple greater than that of 
the first." The thought was taken from Haggai ii. 9. 
It is to be regretted that Mr. Palmer did not give an 
historical sermon, as the records of the church (long 



148 HISTORY OF DOVER 

since destroyed) and those of the parish were put into 
his hands. The exceeding shortness of time probably 
prevented the preparation of such a discourse. Refer- 
ring to the noble work of the society in erecting the 
meeting-house, Mr. Palmer said: "A people who are 
wise for themselves, who regard their temporal as well 
as spiritual interests, will feel the importance of having 
public worship among them ; and, in making provisions 
for it, they will exercise a liberal mind, which deviseth 
liberal things. They will be ready to say with David, 
when making preparations for the temple, 'All things 
come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee.' 
It was under the serious influence of this sentiment, 
we trust, that members of this society acted when they 
began to erect this house." The exercises of dedication 
closed with a prayer by the Rev. Mr. Thacher, of West 
Dedham. On its completion the ever-vexed question 
of seating the meeting-house came up again, and it was 
voted to seat the congregation by the tax each individ- 
ual paid ; that is, after a pew had been selected for the 
minister by vote of the district, the person who paid the 
highest tax had the first choice. The first pew in front 
of the pulpit, as one of dignity, was given to the minis- 
ter for his family. 

Ninety-six pews were assigned in the new meeting- 
house. Amid these square box pews were two in the 
upper gallery set apart for the colored folks of the 
parish. The sides of these two pews were built higher 
than the others, and served to screen the occupants. 

The Dover society early adopted the present and 
popular system of renting pews. A strong feeling man- 
ifested itself in 1823 in favor of raising the money 



THE SECOND MEETING-HOUSE 149 

necessary for the support of public religious instruction 
either by assessing in just proportion annual taxes on 
the pews in the meeting-house or by the sale of the 
pews, in order to raise a permanent fund. 

Aaron Whiting and forty-six others petitioned the 
General Court for " the power of assessing the pews, or 
leasing the same from time to time, or making absolute 
sale thereof," as the inhabitants " may deem most con- 
ducive to the permanent enjoyment of public religious 
instruction and the general interests of the district." 

This request was granted by the General Court, 
February 10, 1823 ; and at the annual April meeting 
the district chose Capt. Josiah Newell, Simeon Cheney, 
Hezekiah Allen, Esq., Dea. Ephraim Wilson, and Jona- 
than Battle a committee to appraise the pews, which 
were divided into five classes in the body of the church, 
and a tax assessed upon the same. 

The amount of the pew-tax was deducted from the 
annual salary tax of the individuals and paid into the 
treasury for the use of the ministry. The inhabitants 
were instructed to select their pews within ten days 
after the ist of April; and were required to give a note 
for the amount of their pew-tax, which was deposited 
with the treasurer and payable on the first day of 
March, with interest after that date. 



CHAPTER XII. 

THE SECOND MINISTER. 

Call extended to Mr. Ralph Sanger — Letter of 
Acceptance — Ordination — Efforts to liberalize 
THE Church — Work in behalf of Education, 
Agriculture, Temperance, Railroad — Degree of 
Doctor of Divinity — Resignation — Death in 
Cambridge. 

a theologian from the school 

Of Cambridge on the Charles, . . . 

Skilful alike with tongue and pen, 

He preached to all men everywhere 

The gospel of the Golden Rule, 

Tlie new commandment given to men, 

Thmking the deed, and not the creed, 

Would help us in our utmost need. 

— Longfellow. 

After the death of Mr. Caryl no active efforts were 
made to settle a minister until the following March, 
when the district chose Dea. Jonathan Battle, Joseph 
Richards, and Josiah Draper a committee to procure 
preaching. In the engagement of candidates the 
parish instructed the committee not to employ a 
preacher for more than four Sundays in succession. 
Mr. Luther Bailey, who was afterwards settled in East 
Medway, now Millis, was a candidate, and at one time 
was favorably considered. But the church in May, 
1812, voted to extend a call to Mr. Ralph Sanger, a 
tutor in Harvard University. The district voted June 
2, 1 812, to concur with the church in its choice of Mr, 
Sanger as "their pastor and gospel minister." The 



THE SECOND MINISTER 151 

district decided to offer Mr. Sanger a salary of five 
hundred and fifty dollars a year, also the use and 
improvement of the church wood-lot. The need of a 
v^acation was early recognized, and it was voted ''that 
Mr. Sanger have liberty to be absent two Sabbaths in 
the year if it be his desire." 

He was descended from a ministerial family, being a 
son of the Rev. Dr. Zedekiah Sanger, a distinguished 
minister of the Second Church, Bridgewater, Mass., 
and also from the first Puritan emigrant of the name, 
Richard Sanger, who settled in Hingham in 1636. 

Mr. Sanger was reared in an atmosphere calculated 
to fit him especially to be the pastor of a country 
church with all its varied duties. His father was 
"highly esteemed for his ability and learning, was 
revered as a minister and sought for as a counsellor." 
He was a noted mathematician and an excellent classical 
scholar. He established a private classical school in 
Bridgewater, where many lads who in after life became 
distinguished men were fitted for college. His mother 
" was a woman of rare personal and social qualities, of 
great intelligence, wisdom, and refinement, and of sin- 
cere and pervading but unostentatious piety." 

Amid these environments Mr. Sanger passed his 
early years, and was fitted for college under the instruc- 
tion of his father and two older brothers who had 
already graduated from Harvard. He entered Harvard 
University ' in 1804, and was graduated in 1808 with the 
highest honors in his class. He was a tutor in Harvard 
in mathematics when called to the Dover church. He 

'It is of interest to note that the designation "Harvard University"' instead of 
"Harvard College" properly began about 17S0. 



152 HISTORY OF DOVER 

had had experience in common-school teaching, having 
taught for a year in Concord, Mass. Mr. Sanger utilized 
this knowledge to the great advantage of the children of 
the town, during the many years of his ministry here, in 
directing the course of public-school education. While 
in Cambridge he studied divinity under the guidance of 
his father. 

Dover was at this time a town of about five hundred 
population. Agriculture was the chief industry of the 
people, and the farmers were intelligent and well-to-do. 
How eminent were Mr. Sanger's qualifications for the 
office of a country pastor, where he was to be "a minis- 
ter, teacher, counsellor, companion, and friend of the 
whole people " ! The life of Mr. Sanger is given some- 
what fully, because he was in a peculiar and distinctive 
sense the minister of the town while Church and State 
were one. 

Mr. Sanger accepted the call of the Dover Parish in 
the following letter : — 

To THE Church and Society in Dover: 

My Christian Friends: — Since I received an expression of 
your wishes as contained in the votes of the church and society, it 
has been my earnest endeavor as well as humble prayer to take 
the important subject into serious consideration. I have consid- 
ered the warm affection and kind attention which were exercised 
and displayed toward him whose labor in the Lord was long and 
precious among you, and whose memory, while he now sleepeth 
with the fathers, you cherish with truly filial affection. I have 
consulted my friends, and have not the happiness to say that their 
opinions were unanimous. I have consulted others, also, whose 
opinion I value, and found them far from being united. 

While my mind was undergoing a conflict from these varying 
opinions, it recurred to a consideration of your condition, — to a 



THE SECOND MIiVISTER 153 

consideration of what might be the situation of your affairs in 
case I should feel myself bound to non-concur with your wishes. 
The thought was painful. It has not, I trust, been without its 
weight in my mind. I have considered also your proposals. 
The form of a part of them now meets my most cordial approba- 
tion ; and, should it so happen that no explicit alterations in other 
parts should take place, permit me to understand and expect that 
I may not materially suffer from the changes which await all 
human affairs, — ^changes which no prudence can foresee nor care 
avoid. I have considered also your tolerant and catholic spirit; 
your charity and affection for the pious and good of all denomina- 
tions ; your sacred regard for the Holy Scriptures in their nature, 
simplicity, and purity, without human addition or diminution. In 
these points permit me to say that your sentiments perfectly 
accord with my own; and it is my earnest wish, as well as devout 
prayer, that, while I shun not to declare the whole counsel of God, 
" I may never teach for doctrines the commandments of men." 

From tJiesc considerations and under these expectations I am 
induced to say, '■ I accept your invitation." And in connection 
with this acceptance I tender you, for all your past attention, my 
most hearty thanks, confidently trusting that, while nothing may 
in future be wanting on my part, so there will be no less dis- 
position on yours to continue them. And, although our situation, 
my friends, may not be the most conspicuous, although we may 
not enjoy the stare and glare of the world, still let us do all in our 
power to enjoy what is infinitely superior. — the cordial love and 
mutual kind attention of each other. Still may we enjoy the 
delightful satisfaction of promoting each other's happiness. And, 
above all, may we enjoy the approbation of our own minds and 
the serenity of a pious hope, a hope of obtaining His favor 
'• whose favor is life, and whose loving-kindness is better than 
life." 

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power 
of his might, praying always with all prayer and supplication in 
the Spirit, and for me that I may open my mouth boldly to make 
known the mystery of the gospel for which I am an ambassador. 

And thus by our mutual prayers, our kind affections, and our 
good offices to each other, by our uninterrupted and increasing 



'54 



HISrOKY OF DOVER 



friendship here, may we be prepared for the enjoyment of that 
friendship which death cannot destroy, which eternity cannot 
impair. 

Thus prays your sincere and humble servant. 




Cambridge, July 3, 1S12. 

Early in the following month the district voted to 
ordain Mr. Sanger on Wednesday, September 16. An 
ordination in those days was of no common occurrence ; 
and a committee, consisting of James Mann, David 
Cleveland, Joseph Richards, Caleb Wight, and Silas 
Bacon, were chosen to make arrangements for enter- 
taining the council, which was to include no less a 
personage than the president of Harvard University. 
Other distinguished clergymen were also expected. An 
elaborate collation was provided at the Williams Tavern. 

The council met at the house of Dr. George Caryl 
at nine o'clock a.m. The Rev. Joseph Haven, of Ded- 
ham, was chosen moderator ; the Rev. Morrell Allen, of 
Pembroke, scribe. The examination of the candidate 
was very satisfactory ; and they proceeded to the ordina- 
tion, parts having been assigned as follows : — - 

Introductory prayer, the Rev. James Flint; sermon, the Rev. 
Zedekiah Sanger, D.D., subject, "The Christian Minister an Am- 
bassador of Christ," and as text the words : " My son, be strong 
in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. Endure hardness as a good 
soldier of Jesus Christ"; ordaining prayer, the Rev. John T. 
Kirkland, D.D., president of Harvard College; charge, the Rev. 
George Morey; right hand of fellowship, the Rev. Stephen 
Palmer; concluding prayer, the Rev. Henry Ware, D.D. 



THE SECOND MIXISTER 155 

The audience was large, and the music was unusually 
fine. It was conducted by Dr. Lowell Mason, of Med- 
field, whose devotion to the improvement of church 
music as a life work is well known. Dr. Mason com- 
posed one of the tunes for this occasion. The choir 
consisted of trained singers whom Dr. Mason brought 
with him from Medfield. 

Mr. Sanger, in his thirtieth anniversary sermon, thus 
speaks of his ordination : — 

An ordination thirty years ago was by no means a common 
occurrence. As it was a rare, so it was deemed an important, 
event. It was considered a solemn public sanction of ties sacred, 
binding, lasting as life itself. There had not been an ordina- 
tion in this place for nearly fifty years. Nor had there been 
more than one or two in the immediate vicinit}^ for many 3-ears 
preceding. A large ecclesiastical council was invited. Liberal 
invitations were seasonably and widely extended to all the neigh- 
boring and even some more distant towns. 

No small expectations were excited. In the afternoon of the 
day preceding the ordination, arrived the most distant members 
of the council with their delegates, and as many of their families 
as they could conveniently bring. On the morning the sun rose 
in a cloudless sky, the harbinger of a bright autumnal day. 
Soon were seen the guests arriving in all parts of the town. 

The council assembled early in the day, transacted in union 
and peace its business, repaired in the forenoon to the church, 
where a large multitude had convened, and there attended with 
order and propriety to the solemnities and services usual on such 
occasions. 

The remainder of the day was spent in social intercourse and 
in partaking of the entertainment which had been most liberally 
provided. And not one, it is believed, of the large number assem- 
bled on that occasion was permitted to leave town without having 
first been a partaker of the hospitality generously furnished on 
that day. 



1^6 HISTORY OF DOVER 

Mr. Sanger immediately became the pastor of the 
whole people, and for more than a quarter of a century 
was the only minister in town. He liberalized the 
church, and the next year after his settlement it was 
voted "to make the Scripture our only guide in the 
admission of members to this church." All the mem- 
bers of the church were with their pastor in taking this 
advanced step, and all continued to work in love and 
harmony. 

While faithful in all the offices of the church, Mr. 
Sanger v/as also interested in whatever pertained to the 
moral, intellectual, and material welfare of his people. 
Soon after his settlement he commenced the work of 
fitting young men for college. He had for students not 
only the boys of Dover and surrounding towns, but 
others from abroad. He continued this work for many 
years, and thus kept in touch with the great work of 
education. 

The cause of common-school education enlisted his 
sympathy, and he labored to build on broad foundations 
and to arouse among the people a lively interest in the 
subject. For more than forty years Mr. Sanger labored 
in this town in the cause of public-school education, 
always making prominent the elements of useful knowl- 
edge and giving such training as would enable the 
pupils to carry on the work of education still further, 
and become intelligent, well-informed members of 
society, who would be enabled " to read, study, examine, 
judge, decide, and act for themselves in all the impor- 
tant affairs of life." He looked to the instruction, and 
labored to improve the schools through the employment 
of better trained and educated teachers. 



THE SECOND MINISTER 157 

He gave much time to the examination of candidates 
for the teacher's profession, and was instrumental in 
the introduction of the best approved text-books. Mr. 
Sanger attended many educational meetings at home 
and abroad held to raise the standard of common-school 
education. Through his efforts Dover was placed in 
the front rank in its appropriations for the support of 
public schools in Massachusetts. During the time of 
his administration the appropriation for the support 
of schools was increased a hundred fold. Highly 
prizing the common school as an institution, he labored 
to perfect and increase its efficiency, that the commu- 
nity might gain that intelligence which is conducive to 
the happiness of men and women. 

He was an active leader in the organization of the 
Massachusetts State Board of Education, and was a 
member of the legislature which created it, and greatly 
rejoiced in its work. He recognized the importance of 
professional training, and labored for the establishment 
of State normal schools. It was a matter of pride to 
him that a normal school was located at Bridgewater, 
the home of his youth. 

Whatever interested his people enlisted his sympathy. 
As the community was much engaged in agricultural 
pursuits, Mr. Sanger became extremely interested in 
the subject. He believed an advantage would accrue in 
the founding of an agricultural college, and labored 
earnestly for its establishment. His wisdom has been 
confirmed, and it is gratifying to know that the Massa- 
chusetts Agricultural College is the most popular of all 
with the young men of this town. 

He was vice-president of the Norfolk Agricultural 



1^8 HISTORY OF DOVER 

Society and for some years chairman of the committee 
on farms. He took a deep interest in this department ; 
for he beheved " that improvement in agriculture tends 
to improvement in morals and religion ; that the better 
men are fed and clothed and housed, the more con- 
tented, virtuous, and happy they will ordinarily be ; so 
that improvement in this pursuit tends to promote ulti- 
mately the highest interest of man." 

During the first forty years of his residence here he 
made more than eight hundred visits to the schools, 
giving much attention to public examinations, and by 
the word fitly spoken helped many a timid child to 
efforts of self-control. 

Mr. Sanger early saw the importance of supplement- 
ing the common school by the establishment of a public 
library. After his marriage, in 1 817, he kept a circulat- 
ing library at his house, and for many years was the 
librarian. He selected the books with great care, and 
the list included many works of standard merit in his- 
tory, biography, and fiction. In 1842 the library con- 
sisted of seven hundred volumes. This library had a 
wide and lasting influence on the community, and its 
influence is felt to-day in the lives of the second genera- 
tion of readers. Later, school libraries were established 
in each school di.strict. In the beloved work of educa- 
tion the lyceum was introduced by Mr. Sanger ; and 
from the platform Henry Wilson, John B. Gough, and 
other prominent men instructed the people. 

At the time of his settlement the drink habit was 
strong among the people. Liquor was plentiful and 
cheap. The number who were strictly temperate was 
very small. Well-filled decanters were found in every 



THE SECOND MINISTER 1 59 

house, and imbibing was frequent. The farmer took 
his "bitters" before breakfast, his "eleven o'clock" 
before dinner, and his "four o'clock" before supper, 
and several mugs of toddy before bedtime. A liberal 
supply of intoxicating drinks was furnished on all occa- 
sions, and was considered an important part of hospi- 
tality in friendly visits. Even the laborers in the field 
were given a daily allowance of liquor. When, in 1762, 
the parish voted to thank John Battle for generously 
entertaining the council at the ordination of the Rev. 
Mr. Caryl, the liquor furnished was no small part of 
Mr. Battle's expense. 

New England rum was " on tap " in every grocery- 
store ; and much of the poverty, crime, and pauperism 
of the time is traceable to this habit. Cider and New 
England rum, distilled from molasses, were the favorite 
drinks. Through this habit " sons of honored sires " 
became drunkards, and ancestral • acres fell into 
strangers' hands. 

While ministers were accustomed to use intoxicating 
drinks, they were among the first to recognize its evils 
and to take steps to correct the habit. Mr. Sanger was 
early convinced that the drink habit was a great detri- 
ment to his people, and became a member, in the year 
of its organization, of the Massachusetts Society for the 
Suppression of Intemperance, which was organized at 
a meeting held at the State House in Boston, February 
5, 1 81 3. It may be true, as has been charged, that 
this society did little beyond observing its anniversary 
and the preaching of a sermon, after which preachers 
and hearers would retire to tables richly laden with 
wines for their refreshment and entertainment ; but, 



i6o HISTORY OF DOVER 

even so, it was not true of Mr. Sanger. He became a 
total abstainer from the start, and also refused to give 
liquor to those in his employ, as was the universal cus- 
tom. He lived to see a wonderful work accomplished 
in this reform, as the evils of intemperance prevailed 
to an alarming extent. Mr. Sanger thus spoke of the 
result of the work : — 

It has produced a great change in the customs and habits of 
society. It has made multitudes sober and temperate, industri- 
ous and useful. Into many houses which were once the abodes 
of want and wretchedness and woe it has brought plenty, com- 
fort, and joy. The hearts of many wives and many children will 
forever bless God for the unspeakable good which they have 
received through the temperance cause. 

As early as 1830 the construction of railroads had 
become quite common in Massachusetts. About this 
time the *' Air Line " route between Boston and New 
York was surveyed to run through Dover. Believing 
it would add greatly to the prosperity of the town, Mr. 
Sanger labored earnestly for the gaining of a charter. 
Rufus Choate was counsel for the opposition. At one 
of the hearings Mr. Choate tried to draw Mr. Sanger 
out on the subject of the population of Dover ; but to 
all his questions he replied, " Not very numerous, Mr. 
Choate, not very numerous." In his address to the 
committee Mr. Choate referred to Dover "with its 
millions of population still unborn.'' 

To aid in gaining a railroad charter, Mr. Sanger was 
elected to the General Court in 1837, and in subse- 
quent years several times returned. In 1838 he was 
elected chaplain of the Massachusetts Senate. In 1853 



THE SECOND MINISTER i6i 

he was chosen an agent of the town to aid in gaining 
from the legislature the extension of the Charles River 
railroad to Dover. As a member of the General Court 
he served upon the committees on education, public 
charitable institutions, and prisons ; and, although quiet 
and unassuming, he exerted a powerful influence and 
was highly esteemed by his fellow-members. 

Mr. Sanger's settlement in 1812 was at a stormy 
period in American history. He was a strong Federal- 
ist, while the prevailing sentiment was anti-Federalist. 
In a short time there developed in the district a strong 
sentiment against him, which was purely political and 
had no theological significance. The difficulty arose in 
a misunderstanding and misconstruction of Mr. Sanger's 
language on the part of Joseph Richards, who claimed 
that Mr. Sanger intimated before his call to the district 
that he would not exercise the right of suffrage. At 
this time ministers often refrained from voting. The 
Rev. Morrill Allen, a native of Dover, who was settled 
at Pembroke, Mass., in 1801, never attended a town 
meeting or voted, until dismissed from his pastorate. 
In 1 8 16 Draper Smith and others petitioned the district 
for the removal of Mr. Sanger, and a committee was 
chosen to wait upon him and ascertain upon what terms 
he would retire. 

It is related that when the committee called he was 
engaged in washing his chaise, and anticipating their 
errand he said : " Good-morning, gentlemen. I under- 
stand you desire me to leave town, so I thought I would 
have a clean chaise in which to ride out." His ex- 
treme politeness and good nature exceedingly embar- 
rassed the committee. 



,62 HISTORY OF DOVER 

Mr. Sanger addressed the following significant letter 
to the society, which was read in district-meeting : — 

To THE Religious Society of which the Subscriber is 
Pastor : 
My Christian Friends : — Your committee, consisting of Capt. 
Hezekiah Battle, Messrs. Josiah Draper, and John Brown, 
appointed by a vote of the society on the 4th inst., waited 
upon me on the 9th of the present month, stating that they were 
directed to inquire of me upon what terms I would consent that 
my pastoral relations with their society should be dissolved. 
I inquired of the committee whether they were instructed to 
acquaint me with the reasons why such a dissolution was 
requested. I replied that, when difficulties existed, it appeared 
highly proper tliat they should be distinctly stated, that then, if 
possible, they might be amicably adjusted. Although the com- 
mittee stated what they considered to be some of the difficulties, 
yet they did not feel themselves authorized to state them by 
virtue of power received from the society. I remarked to the gen- 
tlemen of the committee that, in case the society should desire 
to have a mutual ecclesiastical council, I would join the church 
most heartily in calling one. I do now repeat this assurance to 
the whole society. I will afford my most prompt exertions to have 
a mutual council, with this provision, however, — that a written 
communication or specific statement of all the articles of charge 
and complaint be made to me prior to its appointment. Wishing 
that grace, mercy, and peace may be multiplied unto you, I sub- 
scribe myself your friend and pastor. 




NovKMHEK iiS, 1816. 

This episode illustrates his tact and sense of humor. 
As there was no dissatisfaction in the church and no 
reason for calling an ecclesiastical council, the whole 



THE SECOND MINISTER 163 

matter was dismissed by the district and never again 
brought up. 

We believe there was one feature of this controversy 
which was among the pleasantest recollections of Mr. 
Sanger's life. During this time of strong excitement 
many members of the society expressed to him under 
their signatures assurance of their attachment and satis- 
faction with his ministry, and a strong desire to have it 
continued. They also pledged themselves to a full and 
punctual payment of his salar}'. More than a quarter of 
a century afterwards Mr. Sanger bears testimony to the 
fact that not one member ever failed to fulfil his pledge. 

During Mr. Sanger's pastorate the Church and State 
were entirely separated, and the parish became an inde- 
pendent organization, holding all the church property. 
Mr. Sanger belonged to the liberal wing of the Congre- 
gational Church ; but so great was his respect for the 
opinions of others that all who were members of the 
Congregational Association of Ministers when he joined 
in 1 8 12 continued to fellowship and exchange pulpits 
with him, although some were what are now called 
" Orthodox." 

There were conservative people in his church, some 
of whom did not agree with him in all his teachings, yet 
they so loved and revered him that they lived and died 
as members of his church. He held and carried the 
whole church with him ; and, although an Evangelical 
Congregational Church was organized before the close of 
his ministry, only two members of the First Parish 
Church have withdrawn to join this organization. 

In the forty-six years of Mr. Sanger's active ministry 
ninety-eight persons united with the church, one hun- 



1 64 HISTORY OF DOVER 

drcd and ninety-three were baptized, and there were 
one hundred and fifty-nine marriages and three hundred 
and fourteen deaths in the parish. 

Mr. Sanger was eminently a peacemaker, and ever 
tried to heal dissensions and quiet disputes. He ends 
the record of a church meeting where he had brought 
charges against an erring brother with this benediction : 
May the God of peace dispose our hearts to peace, and 
may we live in peace one with another. 

In the stormy days of 1816, when sorely tried by 
political opponents, he threatened to bring a suit in law 
if his life was spared. After the storm had blown over, 
failing to execute his threat, some of the people asked 
him how he justified such failure. He replied, "A bad 
promise is better broken than kept." 

Mr. Sanger was ever true to his alma mater ; and, in 
the forty-seven years of his life after graduation, he 
missed the exercises of Commencement only on one 
occasion. In 1857 Harvard University conferred upon 
him the degree of Doctor of Divinity. 

The house which Mr. Sanger built in 18 17 and to 
which he brought his young bride — the house in which 
his six children were born, the home which had been 
for nearly half a century the center of every domestic 
virtue, of every elevating influence — was destroyed by 
fire on the morning of July 8, 1857. 

Dr. Sanger remained for two months in the family of 
Mr. Benjamin Newell ; but, feeling the weight of years, 
he did not rebuild, and in the fall of the same year took 
up his residence with his family in the house of his 
son-in-law, Mr. William Gannett, in Cambridge, Mass., 
where on the 6th of May, i860, he peacefully passed 



THE SECOND MINISTER 165 

away. The morning following his death the Boston 
Daily Advertiser thus spoke of him : — 

Although firm in his religious sentiments as a Unitarian, he 
was charitable to all ; and every one, of whatever denomination, 
esteemed him as a man of honest and sincere purpose, whose aim 
was to do good and to be good. Dr. Sanger was extensively 
known and universally respected for his mild, amiable disposition 
and his spotless integrity. We believe it may be truly said he 
was without an enemy. He labored with great fidelity and in 
perfect harmony with the people of his charge until his death, a 
period of forty-seven years and seven months. 

In a notice of his death a friend writes in the Chris- 
tian Register : — 

Dr. Sanger had a heart that held in its affection the true, the 
good, and the faithful of every communion. He believed that the 
spiritualities of the gospel flowed out upon all and sanctified all, 
however separated by diversities of form and utterance, who 
received and obeyed it as a Heaven-sent and life-giving messenger 
of truth and grace. 

He worshipped God the feather, and sought spiritual commun- 
ion with him as the highest object of his homage, his trust, and 
his love. He honored Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as the repre- 
sentation of the divine mind, as a messenger — and a blessed 
messenger — of peace, and power, and life to a world that needed 
his Heaven-sent benefaction. He believed, and rejoiced in believ- 
ing, that the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, in its gracious influence 
to the soul that prayed for it, would be imparted in all-sufficient 
measure. To the interests of the farmer and to all industrial 
avocations that concerned the well-being and happiness of com- 
munities he gave his hearty encouragement and support. He 
felt that he was doing honor to himself when his time and talent 
were employed in behalf of the social, literary, and religious 
interest of his fellow-men. He was in sympathy with all his 
fellow-men. Were they happy, he was happy. Were they in 



,66 HISTORY OF DOVER 

sorrow, he was not insensible to their affliction. His ever-ready 
smile and friendly hand betokened the principles of life and con- 
duct that he cherished. 

Dr. Sanger, in his learning, in his native wit, in his 
urbanity, in his devotion to the best interests of human- 
ity, in his labors for social elevation, in his fidelity to 
the church, in his helpfulness in the home, was a fine 
example of the old-time country minister. Dr. Sanger 
attended with great punctuality the Anniversary Meeting 
held in Boston during the last days of May. Here he 
drew in much inspiration from the public exercises and 
in intercourse with his fellow-ministers at home and 
abroad. 

At the meeting of the Association, of which Dr. 
Sanger was a member, held in Boston on the twenty- 
ninth day of May, i860, the Rev. Dr. Miles thus spoke 
of him : — 

It seems as if we must meet him now, with his pleasant smile 
and hearty greeting and ready anecdote. Descended from a min- 
isterial family and heartily loving the ministerial profession, per- 
haps he was the best representative among us of the old-fashioned 
New England minister. Modern improvements may yield more 
learning and more eloquence, but fraternity, companionship, re- 
quire other things besides learning and eloquence ; and who of us, 
as his image now passes before our minds, does not wish we had 
more like him in his urbanity and kindness and demonstrative- 
ness of interest and affection welling up from a warm and loving 
heart ? 



CHAPTER XIII. 

ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. 

The Third Minister — Ordination of Edward Barker, 
THE Rev. George Proctor, the Rev. C. S. Locke, 
THE Rev. Eugene De Normandie, the Rev. G. H. 
Badger, the Rev. Obed Eldridge, the Rev. P. S. 
Thacher — First Sunday-school — Parish Library — 
Christmas Celebration — Ladies' Benevolent So- 
ciety — Church Decoration — Easter. 

O thou to whom in ancient time 

The lyre of propliet-bards was strung ! 

To thee, at last, in every clime, 

Shall temple rise and praise be sung. 

— John Piektont. 

At the time of the settlement of the third minister, in 
1858, we may note the changes that had taken place in 
the religious thought and customs of the parish since its 
organization in 1749. A century before, on a Sunday 
morning, the men and boys would have been seen 
coming on foot from all directions to the common 
meeting-place. The women and girls, mounted on 
horseback, arrived a little later, and dismounted at the 
horse-block, which had been placed near at hand. 

Inside the meeting-house the congregation gathered 
in an unheated room with bare walls, uncushioned seats, 
and an uncarpeted floor. In summer-time the stillness 
was broken by the neighing of horses tied to trees, 
as no horse-sheds had been built for their protection. 



1 68 HISTORY OF DOVER 

The song of birds was heard without, while the congre- 
gation within united, without the aid of an organ, to 

•• Chant their artless notes in simple guise." 

The long sermon was usually doctrinal, and fre- 
quently dwelt upon infant damnation and perdition. It 
had no word of the fatherhood of God and the brother- 
hood of man. At noon the little congregation dispersed 
to the "noon house," where friendly greetings were 
exchanged ; and after a hasty lunch the men slipped 
round to the "tap room" of the tavern, where over a 
mug of flip they discussed the weather and their crops. 

The third minister was invited to a church of 
approved architecture. The congregation arrived in 
their own carriages at the tolling of the bell, which had 
been rung an hour and a half earlier, inviting them to 
worship. The horses were cared for in a long row of 
sheds, which had been provided for them in the rear 
of the church. Within, the congregation was seated 
in comfortably cushioned pews. The building was well 
heated in winter ; and in summer, by means of large 
windows and closed blinds, the atmosphere was tem- 
pered to the needs of the congregation. The services 
began with the reading of a hymn ; and, helped by the 
choir and the organ, 

•'They tuned their hearts, — by far the noblest aim." 

And the preacher's voice, which had been heard there 
for nearly a half century, had led them out of theology 
into religion, and had built a more glorious church. 
That voice had never tired of telling of the loving- 
kindness and tender mercy of the great Father of us all. 



ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY 169 

In the lapse of time customs had changed. For 
many years marriage notices were " cried " by the 
town clerk, who, before the assembled congregation, an- 
nounced the names of the contracting parties. These 
notices were given three Sundays in succession before 
the marriage ceremony. 

After a death near relatives sent a " note to the 
minister," which was read from the pulpit, asking the 
prayers of the congregation. 

In the early years of his ministry, after pronouncing 
the benediction, Mr. Sanger left the pulpit, and, giving 
his arm to Mrs. Sanger, they walked down the aisle, 
bowing to the congregation as they passed, who re- 
mained standing until the minister and his wife had left 
the church. 

The congregation then dispersed, those from the 
seats of " dignity " passing out first, while the " common 
people " were the last to leave their pews. 

The ever-officious tithing-man, who looked so zeal- 
ously after the church attendance and the congregation 
while assembled, had passed away, to the great satisfac- 
tion of the people and the relief and delight of the boys. 

The English custom of bell-ringing, which was so 
common in surrounding towns, never obtained here, 
except " the pealing bell to announce that some mortal 
had put on immortality." The ringing of the bell at 
noon and the curfew bell, rung at nine o'clock as a 
signal for retiring, were never practised here. 

Dr. Sanger, after taking up his residence in Cam- 
bridge, continued by the unanimous vote of the parish 
to supply the pulpit. This arrangement was found very 
arduous and inconvenient ; and, seeing no prospect that 



lyo HISTORY OF DOVER 

the circumstances would essentially change, and think- 
ing it for the good of the society, Dr. Sanger closed his 
active ministry September 19, 1858, but continued 
senior pastor of the church until his death. 

In the loss of Dr. Sanger's house in 1857 the commun- 
ion service was destroyed. The next month the Messrs. 
Melancthon Smith, Jonathan Ellis, James Newell, and 
Joseph A. Allen united in presenting to the church a 
beautiful silver service, which was greatly appreciated. 

The parish voted, November i, 1858, to invite Ed- 
ward Barker, Jr., to settle over the First Parish Church 
as a colleague of the Rev. Dr. Sanger, with an an- 
nual salary of five hundred dollars, payable quarterly, 
together with five cords of wood to be furnished from 
the parish wood-lot. 

Mr. Barker was a native of England, and was gradu- 
ated from the theological school at Meadville, Pa. 
He accepted the call of the First Parish and was or- 
dained December 8, 1858. The council met at the 
house of Benjamin Newell at eleven o'clock. The pub- 
lic services were held in the church at two o'clock in 
the afternoon, and were as follows : — 

Introductory prayer, the Rev. F. M. Dorr. Slierborn; reading 
of the Scripture, the Rev. William G. Babcock, South Natick; 
sermon, the Rev. Dr. Ezra S. Gannett, Boston ; ordaining prayer, 
the Rev. Dr. Ralph Sanger; charge, the Rev. Calvin Lincoln, 
Hingham ; right hand of fellowship, the Rev. S. W. Bush, Med- 
field ; address to the people, the Rev. J. M. Merrick, Walpole ; 
concluding prayer, the Rev. John S. Berry, Needham ; benediction, 
the Rev. Edward Barker, Jr. 

Mr. Barker's pastorate was not harmonious, and he 
was dismissed by vote of the parish at the end of the 



ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY 171 

second year of his ministry. The additions to the 
church numbered three. The Rev. Horatio Alger, Jr., 
suppHed the pulpit for six months in 1 860 ; but, 
deciding to make literary pursuits — the writing of 
juvenile books — a life work, he did not continue in 
the ministry. 

In April, 1863, the Rev. George Proctor, of North 
Billerica, Mass., a minister of the Universalist denomina- 
tion, was invited to become pastor. He accepted the 
invitation and continued pastor for five years. He was 
successful in his pastorate, and thirty-four persons 
united with the church under his ministry. There was 
a discussion in 1859 about reorganizing the church and 
having a test for membership ; but no definite action 
was taken until 1867, when the following covenant, 
which is still in force, was unanimously adopted by the 
church : — 

I St. I believe in the one living and true God, who is the Father 
of our spirits and the Preserver of our lives, the Governor of the 
moral world, and the Disposer of all things and events. 

2nd. I believe in our Lord Jesus Christ, the spiritual .Son of 
the living God, the great teacher of truth and righteousness to the 
world, and a Saviour; that he fulfilled the Law and the Prophets, 
and established the Holy Gospel for our guide in faith and 
practice. 

3rd. I believe that the Lord will justly reward every man 
according to his works, and that we ought to do justly, love 
mercy, walk humbly before God, and dwell together in love, 
endeavoring to keep the unity of the spirit in the bonds of peace. 

Mr. Proctor was born in Chelmsford, Mass., Sep- 
tember 5, 1 814. He studied theology with the Rev. 
Rufus S. Frost, of Hyannis, Mass. It was during his 
ministry that the children were brought into the church 



,72 HISTORY OF DOVER 

service, through the Sunday-school concert which took 
the place of the afternoon service once each month. 

Soon after the resignation of Mr. Proctor the com- 
mittee of the church invited the Rev. Calvin S. Locke, 
of West Dedham, to preach two Sundays. His service 
was so acceptable to the people and so pleasant to him- 
self that he continued to supply the pulpit for eleven 
years, although actively engaged in teaching in his 
private school in West Dedham. Mr. Locke imme- 
diately began to enlarge the work of the church. The 
Sunday-school was made more efificient and attractive 
through the introduction of an appropriate service-book, 
the purchase of a cabinet organ, and the introduction of 
the best lesson-books. The regular afternoon service 
was soon given up, and the length of the session of the 
Sunday-school was increased. 

The church service was enriched by the adoption of 
a new hymn-and-tune-book and the purchase of a fine 
pipe-organ. During Mr. Locke's ministry the church 
was adorned and beautified through the generosity of 
Frederick Barden, Esq., of Newton, a former member 
of the parish. 

Feeling the need of a library for his people more mis- 
cellaneous in character than that of the Sunday-school, 
a "parish library" was organized, to which Mr. Locke 
contributed books from his own library as a nucleus. 
This library flourished, and in the absence of a town 
library greatly added to the pleasure and intelligence of 
the members of the society. Feeling the burden of a 
double service, Mr. Locke closed his connection with 
the church in 1880, and devoted his energies to his 
successful private school. He was a preacher much 



ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY 173 

esteemed, a friend much lo\'ed, and a man respected 
by all. Six persons united with the church under his 
ministry. 

Calvin Stoughton Locke was born in Acworth, N.H., 
October 11, 1829. He graduated from Amherst Col- 
lege in 1849 and the Harvard Divinity School in 1854. 
The same year he was ordained as pastor of the Third 
Parish Church at West Dedham. His pastorate con- 
tinued for nearly ten years. 

In the spring of 1880 the Rev. Eugene De Nor- 
mandie, of Sherborn, a native of Pennsylvania, and a 
graduate of the Meadville Theological School, was 
invited to become pastor, and for seven years divided 
his labors with the churches of the two towns. At this 
time the hour of public worship was changed from 
eleven a.m. to two o'clock in the afternoon. 

In January, 1888, the Rev. George Henry Badger, of 
Charlestown, Mass., a graduate of Williams College and 
Harvard Divinity School, was ordained and settled over 
the Eliot Church at South Natick. 

Mr. Badger accepted an invitation to supply the 
Dover pulpit, which he did most ably until called, in 
1892, to a church in New Jersey. 

On the resignation of Mr. Badger the Rev. Obed 
Eldridge, minister of the Third Parish, West Dedham, 
was invited to supply the pulpit, which he continued to 
do until within a short time of his death, which occurred 
December 14, 1895. 

In his ministry in Dover, Mr. Eldridge endeared 
himself to his people, and was very popular with all. 
Without the advantages of high-school or college train- 
ing, by dint of perseverance, and with the burden and 



174 



HISTORY OF DOVER 



care of a large family already on his hands, he acquired 
a degree of learning and culture which made him an 
acceptable preacher of the Unitarian denomination. 

After leaving the district school, Mr. Eldridge learned 
the trade of a nailer, which he pursued until his ordina- 
tion at Dighton, Mass., in 1880. He was very pleasing 
as a platform speaker. His noble aspiration for an 
education should be an encouraging example to all 
aspiring youth. Possessed of a warm and sympathetic 
nature, Mr. Eldridge excelled at funeral services, and 
was enabled to impart hope and solace in an unusual 
degree to mourning hearts. 

The Rev. Philip S. Thacher, of Needham, is the 
present pastor of the First Parish Church. He began 
his services the first Sunday in November, 1895. Mr. 
Thacher is a graduate of the Meadville Theological 
School, and represents the advanced theological thought 
of the time. He has held pastorates at Augusta, Me., 
and Santa Barbara, Cal. 

The year 1898 will mark the one hundred and fifti- 
eth anniversary of the organization of the First Parish, 
and an unbroken record of one hundred and thirty-six 
years of the First Parish Church, of which the following 
persons have been the deacons since its organization in 
1762 to the present time: Ralph Day, Joseph Haven, 
Ebenezer Newell, Ebenezer Smith, Ephraim Wilson, 
Jonathan Battle, Ralph Battelle, Joseph Larrabee, Jo- 
seph A. Smith, Asa Talbot. 

The evening of Sunday, January 20, 1839, had been 
set apart for a service of praise in the First Parish 
church. In carrying coals of fire from one part of the 
building to another, some were accidentally dropped ; 



ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY 175 

and these finding lodgment under the steps of the 
meeting-house, it was soon on fire. This occurred be- 
tween four and five o'clock in the afternoon. Before 
assistance could be summoned, the building was in 
flames, and was totally destroyed. The church was 
well built ; and its frame of oak stood in the early twi- 
light until it was one blaze from the sills to the top of 
the steeple, furnishing a sight of grandeur and beauty 
which was never forgotten by those who witnessed it. 
Rising above the circumstances, which were peculiarly 
discouraging, the members of the parish assembled the 
next morning around the smouldering ruins of their 
church, and arranged to call a parish meeting. 

At a meeting of the parish held February 11, 1839, 
it was voted to build a new meeting-house, and the fol- 
lowing gentlemen were chosen a building committee : 
Hiram W. Jones, John Williams, and Daniel Mann. 
The committee acted with much energy and prompt- 
ness. The society decided to build a church, not of 
ambitious architecture, but comfortable and convenient, 
and well adapted to the changed condition of the parish. 
February 15, 1839, it was voted "to build a meeting- 
house fifty feet long, forty feet wide, and to be finished 
in the same manner and style as the new Baptist meet- 
ing-house in Medfield, and to be in every respect equal 
to that house." 

The town was anxious to provide itself with a hall ; 
and, having made arrangements with the parish, the 
town constructed the vestry of the church, which was 
used for town purposes. The contract for building the 
church was awarded to Thomas Phillip.s, of South 
Natick, who constructed a building of fine workman- 



,76 HISTORY OF DOVER 

ship throughout. The work was pushed with rapidity, 
and in less than eight months the church was dedicated. 
While the new meeting-house was being built, the 
congregation worshipped in the Center schoolhouse. 
Recognizing the burden of the society, Mr. Sanger re- 
linquished one fifth of his salary for the year 1839. 
The church cost, above the expense met by the town, 
^2,878.35, and was dedicated free of debt. Friends of 
the parish in adjoining towns, also at Jamaica Plain, 
Brighton, Brookline, and Hollis Street Church in Bos- 
ton, furnished pecuniary aid amounting to $^%'j.'j']. 
These contributions greatly encouraged and strength- 
ened the people. 

The tower of the church was furnished with a bell 
weighing ten hundred and fifty pounds. An effort was 
made to beautify the grounds ; and Capt. Timothy Allen, 
John Williams, the Rev. Ralph Sanger, and Luther 
Eastman were chosen a committee to invite the people to 
meet at a given time and plant trees. The members 
of the parish responded to the invitation, and a large 
number of trees were set out ; but, the people failing 
to note the nature of the soil, the elms, maples, and ash- 
trees which were planted did not flourish, and few lived 
to ornament the grounds. Had the conditions been 
taken into consideration, the ample grounds of the par- 
ish might have been made a thing of beauty. The new 
meeting-house was dedicated September 18, 1839, with 
the following exercises, including appropriate music: — 

Introductory prayer, the Rev. Mr. Clarke, of Sherborn ; read- 
ing of Scripture, the Rev. Mr, White, of West Dedham; 
sermon, the Rev. Ralph Sanger; dedicatory prayer, the Rev. 
William Ritchie, of Needham ; concluding prayer, the Rev. 
Charles Robinson, of Medfield. 



ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY 177 

A majority of the older Sunday-schools in Massachu- 
setts were organized in 181 8. In April of that year 
Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Battle organized a Sunday-school 
for the instruction of the laboring people who worked 
in the mills. The exercises of the Sunday-school were 
held over the store of Capt. Josiah Newell at Charles 
River Village. Little is known of this early Sunday- 
school. It had a short life, but was soon followed by 
the organization of another, which was later connected 
with the First Parish Church. 

In 1822 Miss Mary Perry entered upon the duties of 
teacher in the Center School. To encourage an interest 
in religious exercises, she invited her pupils to commit 
to memory passages of Scripture and verses of hymns, 
to be repeated to her on Monday morning. Some of 
the pupils entered upon the work with pleasure ; but, 
as the interest increased, jealousies arose, and some of 
the parents complained that too much time was taken 
from the school duties. Miss Perry then invited her 
scholars to meet her in the schoolhouse on Sunday 
noon. This invitation was heartily accepted, and she 
soon had a class larger than she could attend to. In 
1824 the session of this school was held in the church. 

Many of the early Sunday-schools were held for years 
in schoolhouses and halls, independent of the church. 
They were not generally esteemed. For years the 
First Parish Sunday-school was kept open only through 
the summer months, always adjourning as cold weather 
approached. This was at first necessary, as there was 
no means of heating the church ; but the custom con- 
tinued long after the meeting-house was warmed. 
Seventy-five years ago children were not generally 



ijS HISTORY OF DOVER 

taken to church in inclement weather. The men and 
boys kept warm as best they could, while the women 
and girls depended upon extra clothing and the foot- 
stove. 

Mr. Sanger did not fail to recognize the value of the 
Sunday-school as a means of promoting the intellectual, 
moral, and religious improvement of the young, and 
early did much to foster it. 

In 1869 Calvin Richards, who interested himself in 
the re-establishment of a library, examined the books 
of the "Proprietors' Library," in connection with the 
Rev. C. S. Locke, who proposed to the First Parish to 
establish a parish library, purchasing the books of the 
Proprietors' Library as a nucleus. Mr. Locke offered to 
add some books of more recent date from his own 
library. The proposition met with favor ; and January 
I, 1870, the Plrst Parish, having purchased for the sum 
of fifteen dollars the right and title to the Proprietors' 
Library, organized the Dover First Parish Library, with 
a full board of officers. The library was opened for the 
delivery of books on the first and third Sundays of each 
month. Frederick Barden, Esq., a lifelong friend of 
the First Parish, presented to the library in 1874 a fund 
of one thousand dollars, the income of which is used 
for the purchase of books. It was Mr. Barden's ex- 
pressed wish that the fund should forever remain for 
the support of the First Parish Library. In his letter of 
presentation he said, " I do not love the town less, but 
I love the parish more." The rules of the library have 
been somewhat modified since its organization. It is 
now open for the delivery of books each Sunday after- 
noon, and is free to all the members of the First Parish 



ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY 179 

and church attendants. Others have access to the 
Hbrary on the payment of a small annual fee. 

In the early tmie all the able-bodied had to attend the 
church service. In 1760 the General Court of Massa- 
chusetts passed a law that " any persons able of body 
who should absent themselves from public worship of 
God on the Lord's Day should pay a fine of ten 
shillings." 

The following record is in Col. John Jones's " Book 
of Minits " : — 

Dom. Rex vs. Ephraim Bacon. Suffolk ss. Memo, That on 
ye 25th day of Jul}-, 1774. Ephraim Bacon, of Dedham [Dover], 
yeoman in ten pounds, Oliver Kendrick, of Dedham [Dover], 
3'eoman in ten pounds. Recognized that j-e said Ephraim should 
appear before ye Court of General Sessions of ye peace to be 
held at Boston on ye 26th Inst, at 10 a.m., to answer for his 
unlawfully absenting himself from Publick Worship of God on 
Lord's Days three months, as Expressed in a bill of indictment 
filed in said court. 

Suffolk ss., August 8, 1744. Ephraim Bacon in ye same sum 
and ye same surety recognized and held to answer at ye Gen'l 
Sessions of ye Peace ye ist Tuesday in October next. 

Whether the plaintiff (Dom. Rex) or the defendant 
(Ephraim Bacon) gained the case does not appear. 

The First Parish Sunday-school established a library 
in the early thirties, which in the selection of books 
received much attention from the Rev. Dr. Sanger and 
others. It was for many years a valuable library, con- 
taining several hundred volumes, but declined after the 
establishment of the parish library, as the members of 
the Sunday-school had access to this library and were 
encouraged to read books which did not find a place in 



i8o HISTORY OF DOVER 

the Sunday-school library. After the destruction of 
the Rev. Dr. Sanger's house in 1857, there was no col- 
lection of books accessible to the people except the 
libraries of the several Sunday-schools until 1870. 

The parish made an early provision for singing. At 
a meeting held January 13, 1764, before even the new 
schoolhouse had been accepted, it was voted to open it 
two evenings in a week for a singing-school. This 
instruction was intended to lead to singing by note. 
At the March meeting in 1770 Lemuel Richards, 
Joseph Fisher, and Asa Richards were chosen to tune 
the psalms for the year ensuing. A little later the 
singers were seated in the front gallery in the meeting- 
house, and only one person was appointed to tune the 
psalms. We can easily imagine Joseph Fisher standing, 
perhaps on the pulpit stairs, with a pitch-pipe in hand, 
"tuning the psalms." He reads two lines, adjusts his 
voice, and then the congregation "joins in the arduous 
pursuit." In this way the whole psalm is sung. 

The district of Dover voted November 29, 1824, to 
appropriate fifty dollars for the support of singing in 
church. Ralph Battelle, Josiah Newell, and Fisher Tis- 
dale were appointed to superintend the expenditure of 
the money. This was probably devoted to the support 
of a singing-school rather than to the payment of a 
choir. Singing-schools were sustained by the town for 
many years, and were under the instruction of promi- 
nent singing-masters. Watts's Psalms and Hymns, 
which were almost universally used in the church ser- 
vice after the Revolution, was probably the first hymn- 
book used in the Dover meeting-house. 

The singing in country churches of this period must 



ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY i8i 

have been bad, as it was largely by rote. The impor- 
tance of singing by note was not recognized. The tunes 
at first were all dancing-tunes adapted. With the intro- 
duction of sacred airs the singing greatly improved, and 
in time became excellent in the Dover church. 

Before the introduction of an organ a variety of 
instrumental music was introduced into the church 
service. Moses Draper played the bass-viol ; Aaron 
Miller, William Cleveland, Willard Battelle, Samuel F. 
Allen, violin ; Elijah Perry, Alonzo Howe, 'cello ; Thomas 
Smith, William Tisdale, Benjamin Newell, flute. The 
first organ was a reed instrument, which was not satis- 
factory. A pipe-organ was introduced about 1845. 

Christmas for the first time was publicly observed 
with a festival and Christmas-tree in 1859. This early 
celebration of Christmas by the First Parish Sunday- 
school was doubtless due to the efforts of the Rev. Mr. 
Barker, who was of English birth and accustomed to 
the celebration abroad. The first celebration in Boston 
antedates this observance by only four years. There 
was great prejudice against the celebration of Christmas 
in New England, as the service was looked upon as 
popish. 

The women came to the front in the organization of 
a Ladies' Benevolent Society about 1830. The organi- 
zation had a full board of officers, of which Mrs. Jona- 
than Battelle was the first president. Regular monthly 
meetings were held, at which time there was much 
quilting and sewing, and many fancy articles were made. 
The meetings were held at the homes of the members 
of the society, and often took the form of a social in 
the evening, to which the young people and the gentle- 
men were invited. 



1 82 HISTORY OF DOVER 

An annual fair was held, at which time their handi- 
work was offered for sale. 

The church organ was purchased by the ladies, and 
up to the present time they have always met the ex- 
pense of the organist. 

Through the labors of the Ladies' Benevolent Society 
the women of the parish have helped to support preach- 
ing, repaired and beautified the church, and in all the 
years since its organization have rendered substantial aid. 

When we gaze at Easter-time upon the beautiful 
church decoration, we may remember that this is a 
comparatively recent custom. 

It is said that Warren Street Chapel in Boston, which 
was organized in 1832, was the first Protestant church 
in America to introduce flowers as a part of the regular 
Sunday decoration of the sanctuary. 

The observance of Easter came about gradually in 
the Dover churches, and it would be impossible to tell 
at what time or in which church it was first observed. 

At first the sermon alone called attention to the day, 
while later special music and decorations were added ; 
and, lastly, the children were brought into the service 
by means of the Sunday-school concert, which often 
took the place of the evening service. 

Happily, our fathers had the true New England spirit, 
and placed their meeting-house upon the hill-top, where 
it has been kept, for a century and a half, as a beacon 
light. We shall never know how many persons have 
unconsciously absorbed higher aspirations, and been 
made more faithful in the discharge of duty through 
the silent influence of its heavenward-pointing spire. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.— Continued. 

Baptist Church — the Re\\ A. E. Battelle — Second 
Congregational Church — the Rev. George Cham- 
pion — THE Rev. Calvin White — the Rev. O. W. 
Cooley^the Rev. John Haskell — the Rev. Thomas 
Norton — the Rev. J. G. Wilson — the Rev. S. C. 
Strong — the Rev. John Wood — the Rev. Pierce 
Pinch — the Rev. J. W. Brownville — the Rev. 
P. C. Headley — ^the Rev. H. L. Howard — the Rev. 
A. M. Rice — the Rev. A. H. Tyler — the Rev. 
Edwin Leonard — Christian Endeavor Society — 
Millerites — Catholics. 

One holy Churcli of God appears 

Througli every age and race, 
Unwasted by the lapse of j'ears, 

Unchanged by changing place. 

— Samuel Longfellow. 

BAPTIST CPIURCH. 

The Baptists had a definite religious belief from the 
first, and their rates were abated as early as 1774. In 
1780 they were relieved by vote of the parish from pay- 
ing to the support of the First Parish Church whenever 
a certificate, properly signed, was presented stating that 
the bearer was of the Baptist persuasion. 

The Baptists in Medfield were among the first to 
organize a church. The Dover Baptists attended this 
church, which was organized in 1776, for many years. 
After the org-anization of the church in West Dedham, 



1 84 HISTORY OF DOVER 

in 1824, some of the residents worshipped there. But 
the desire to have a church of their own was so strong 
that as early as 1835 regular religious services were 
held at the house of Dea. Calvin French, at Charles 
River Village. This move did not meet with the ap- 
proval of the West Dedham Church; but in 1837 the 
Baptists of Dover, Needham, and Natick united in 
inviting an ecclesiastical council to meet on Tuesday, 
October 3, 1837, and recognize them as a church, to 
be known as the Needham and Dover Baptist Church. 
The articles of faith and practice of the Federal 
Street Baptist Church in Boston, now Clarendon Street, 
were adopted. The council, representing all the Baptist 
churches in the vicinity, met, as invited, at the houseof 
Deacon French, and, after fully considering the matter, 
resolved : — 

That the council rejoice in the progress of divine truth in this 
place, and that it be recommended to the brothers and sisters 
asking advice in reference to organizing themselves into a distinct 
church to go on and do all in their power in forming a religious 
society, sustaining the preaching of the gospel, erecting a chapel, 
etc. ; but that the council deemed it expedient to defer the forma- 
tion of a church for the present. 

The people entered upon the work of church-building 
with enthusiasm. A lot was purchased of Dea. Calvin 
French for twenty-five dollars ; and the next year they 
completed a chapel, which, to meet the convenience of 
the three towns, was located on the Dover side of the 
Charles River, nearly opposite the present residence of 
Mr. Jolliffe on Center Street. 

A second council assembled June 20, 1838, and voted 
to recognize the society as a distinct organization, to 



ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY 1S5 

be known as the Needham and Dover Baptist Church. 
The following parts were assigned by the council in 
the recognition of the church and in the dedication of 
the chapel : — 

Scripture reading, the Rev. Origen Crane, of Newton ; intro- 
ductory prayer, the Rev. Thomas Driver, West Dedham; ser- 
mon, the Rev. C. O. Kimball, of Charlestown ; consecration 
prayer, the Rev. William Leverett, Roxbury ; right hand of 
fellowship, the Rev. William H. Shailer, of Brookline ; address 
to the church, the Re\^ Bradley Miner, Dorchester. 

The church prospered, although it never had a settled 
minister, and at one time numbered sixty members. In 
1842 the Rev. S. C. Chandler, of Heath, Mass., was 
invited to supply the pulpit. He accepted, and after a 
few months was dismissed, to take charge of the Second 
Baptist Church in Belchertown, Mass. The Baptist de- 
nomination continued to grow ; and in a few years 
churches were formed in Natick and Needham, which 
drew from the membership and attendance of the Dover 
church. 

In i860 the chapel was moved by vote of the society 
to its present location, and was rededicated November 
28, 1862. The site was gained through an exchange of 
land with Sherman Battelle, a firm and devoted friend 
of the church from the start. After its removal it was 
named the Springdale Baptist Church. The Rev. A. E. 
Battelle, a native of Dover, was for several years acting 
pastor of the church. For many years students from 
the Newton Theological School occupied the pulpit, and 
it was laughingly said that one could not graduate from 
the Newton Theological School without first preaching 
in Dover, During the last few years the church has 



1 86 HISTORY OF DOVER 

not had regular Sunday services, but occasional meet- 
ings have been held. The property is held in trust. 
The Rev. Dr. S. F. Smith, the author of "America," 
was at one time a frequent and welcome preacher. 
Many distinguished men have preached for this church 
as theological students, among whom may be men- 
tioned President Robinson, of Brown University; the 
Rev. Dr. Magoon, of Philadelphia ; the Rev. Dr. An- 
derson, of the First Baptist Church, New York City; 
and the Rev. Dr. P^yfe, a prominent preacher in the 
Dominion of Canada. The following have been deacons 
in the church : Calvin French, Clement Bartlett, John 
Kenrich. 

SECOND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. 

The Church and State were separated, as far as the 
Dover church was concerned, in 1832 ; and from that 
time the First Parish Church had to meet its own ex- 
penses without any help from the district as an incor- 
porated body. Previous to that time the great religious 
controversy had occurred in the Congregational Church, 
and some of the residents who accepted the Orthodox 
faith united with Trinitarian churches in the vicinity. 

Others had moved into town who were already mem- 
bers of Orthodox churches. Being freed from the min- 
ister tax for the support of the First Parish Church, 
those who held the Trinitarian belief in 1838 took steps, 
like the Baptists, to form a church of their own. A 
meeting was held at the house of Calvin Bigelow, which 
resulted in the establishment of another religious soci- 
ety for the maintenance of public worship. This new 
parish was organized December 27, 1838, and was 



ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY 1S7 

called the Second Congregational Church of Dover. 
February 14, 1839, the society purchased of Jonathan 
Upham half an acre of land for one hundred dollars. 
The deed states, " The said piece of land is that on 
which the old meeting-house stood." The society en- 
tered upon the work of building without delay, and in 
1839 dedicated their chapel, which cost about one 
thousand dollars. 

The reasons assigned for organizing another church, 
as given in the records of the society, are as follows : — 

The known departure from the faith of the founders of the 
Congregational church in Dover; the increasing number of those 
who entertain evangelical views of doctrine, most of whom, be- 
longing to different churches in the vicinity, are obliged to go 
some distance to worship ; and an earnest desire on their part to 
do something for the good of their offspring and neighbors in 
the place of their residence. 

The kindliest feeling has always existed between the 
First Parish Church and the Second Congregational 
Church. In 1869, while the First Parish church was 
being repaired, the society occupied by invitation the 
Congregational chapel ; and, when the Christian En- 
deavor Society of the Second Congregational Church 
was organized, in 1886, it was named the "Haven Soci- 
ety," in honor of one of the first deacons of the First 
Parish Church. 

In its organization the new church was composed 
largely of those who, by education or former residence, 
were interested in what was termed the " Orthodox " 
church. 

The meeting-house of the Second Congregational 
Society was dedicated on Thursday, June 27, 1839. 



1 88 HISTORY OF DOVER 

The exercises were largely attended, and were as 
follows : — 

Reading of the Scripture and introductory prayer, the Rev. 
Edmund Dowse, of Sherborn; sermon, the Rev. Silas Aiken, 
D.D., of Park Street Church, Boston, from Psalm Ixxxiv. i, 2; 
dedicatory prayer, the Rev. L. Hyde, of Weymouth ; address to 
the society, the Rev. S. Harding, of East Medway. 

The church was organized by an ecclesiastical council, 
which convened October 23, 1839, and consisted of 
nineteen original members. 

The public exercises were as follows : — - 

Introductory prayer, the Rev. I. W. Stevens; sermon, the Rev. 
Ebenezer Burgess, D.D. ; fellowship of the churches, the Rev. 
Sewall Harding ; concluding prayer, the Rev. John BuUard. 

The first minister of the society was the Rev^ George 
Champion, who was active in organizing the new church. 
He remained until December 5, 1841, and was suc- 
ceeded by the Rev. Rowell Tenney, who supplied eight 
months. In the fall of 1843 the church invited the 
Rev. Lucius Clark to settle as its minister ; but the 
parish, being unable to raise sufficient funds, did not 
concur with the church. The society did not have 
a settled minister for nearly ten years after its organi- 
zation. The Rev. Calvin White supplied the pulpit 
from 1842 to June 20, 1847; and March 7, 1848, the 
parish united with the church in calling Mr. Oramel 
W. Cooley to settle at a salary of four hundred dollars 
per year. Mr. Cooley accepted the invitation, and was 
ordained May 4, 1848. The public exercises were as 
follows : — 



ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY 189 

Introductory prayer, the Rev^ Samuel Hunt, of Natick; 
sermon, the Rev. S. D. Clark, Ashfield ; ordaining prayer, the 
Rev. Calvin Durfee ; charge to the pastor, the Rev. Dr. Burgess, 
of Dedham ; right hand of fellowship, the Rev. Edmund Dowse, 
of Sherborn ; address to the people, the Rev. Daniel Ide, of 
Medway ; concluding prayer, the Rev. A. Bigelow, of Medfield ; 
benediction by the pastor. 

Mr. Cooley continued in the pastorate for two years, 
and was succeeded in 1850 by Mr. John Haskell, who 
was ordained December 2, 1850, and who remained 
eight years. 

The Rev. Thomas S. Norton became minister of the 
society in 1859, and labored efficiently for ten years. 
He was much interested in temperance, the public 
schools, and whatever tended to improve and elevate 
the town. The Baptist meeting-house having been 
moved away, Mr. Norton established at Charles River 
Village a regular Sunday afternoon service and Sunday- 
school, the services being held in Noanet's Hall. 

Later this movement led to the organization of a 
society, which held regular Sunday afternoon services 
in the hall of the Parker Schoolhouse in Needham. In 
1 87 1 the Rev. J. G. Wilson was called at a salary of 
seven hundred dollars and a parsonage. As the church 
owned no parsonage, this led to the consideration of 
building one. A committee of five was chosen in 1872 
to provide " ways and means " to build a parsonage. 
The committee purchased for five hundred dollars the 
site of the Rev. Dr. Sanger's house, preparatory to 
building ; but before any active steps were taken, in 
1875, Mrs. Abigail Draper Mann died, and willed her 
property on Dedham Street to the society. 



L 



IQO HISTORY OF DOVER 

The estate was immediately taken possession of, and 
active steps taken to provide a home for the minister. 
Mrs. Mann's house was moved back and made to form 
a part of a new building, which was erected in 1875. 
The parsonage was not completely finished for several 
years. A debt continued for some time, but was finally 
lifted through the generosity of neighboring churches 
and friends in other towns who were interested in the 
society. 

Mr. Wilson remained as pastor of the church for two 
years. He was succeeded by the Rev. S. C. Strong, of 
South Natick, a man much beloved, but who was soon 
followed by the Rev. John Wood, of Wellesley. Mr. 
Wood labored with the society for three years ; and, 
although a resident of another town, he was much 
among his people. He united the church which he 
found in dissension, added new members, and left it a 
much stronger organization than when he took charge. 

In 1878 the Home Missionary Society, which had long 
aided and fostered the Dover church, advised uniting 
with the John Eliot Church of South Natick, — which 
was also under its care, — in calling a minister to settle 
over the two societies. A union was effected, and Mr. 
Pierce Pinch was invited to settle. He accepted the 
call, and selected South Natick as his place of residence. 
Mr. Pinch was ordained and installed as pastor of the 
Dover and South Natick churches July 25, 1878. The 
order of services was as follows : — 

Invocation and reading of Scripture, the Rev. Charles Jones ; 
sermon, the Rev. Hiram Mead, Oberlin, Ohio; installing prayer, 
the Rev. S. D. Hosmer; charge to the minister, the Rev. H. I. 
Patrick ; right hand of fellowship, the Rev. E. E. Strong; address 



ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY 191 

to the people, the Rev. WiUiam Barrows, D.D. ; concluding 
prayer, the Rev. John Wood ; benediction by the pastor. 

This union continued for two years, when it Avas dis- 
solved, and the Dover church was united with the 
mission at Charles Riv^er Village. The Rev. J. W. 
Brownville was invited in June, 1880, to become pastor 
of the two societies. He was the first pastor to occupy 
the new parsonage. He resigned after two years' ser- 
vice. In September, 1882, the Rev. P. C. Headley, a 
man of wide reputation as an author and preacher, began 
to supply the pulpit. He occupied the parsonage with 
his family, and continued as minister of the society until 
1885, when he moved to New Jersey. Mr. Headley 
was very active in his church, held many revival meet- 
ings, increased the membership, and stimulated the 
members to much religious work. 

He was a man much beloved by his people, and on 
his return to Massachusetts the society unanimously 
voted again to invite him to become pastor of the 
church ; but, having arrived at a time of life when he 
wished to be relieved from the responsibility of a 
church, he declined. 

In 1885 the Rev. H. L. Howard was called to supply 
the pulpit for a year. Soon after the close of his year's 
service the Rev. A. M. Rice was invited to become 
acting pastor. Mr. Rice remained three years ; and 
December 23, 1889, the Rev. A. H. Tyler was called 
to the church. He greatly endeared himself to his 
people, but was obliged to resign his pastorate after 
a two years' service on account of ill-health. 

The parish as a separate organization has been abol- 
ished, and in its place the church has been incorpo- 



192 HISTORY OF DOPIER 

rated. This act was performed July 3, 1890, under 
the title of the Evangelical Congregational Church of 
Dover. The church has adopted a "Confession of 
Faith " and a Covenant, which is found in the manual 
of the society. 

The Haven Society of Christian Endeavor was or- 
ganized November 7, 1886, with ten active and three 
associate members. Jedediah W. Higgins, who was in- 
strumental in its organization, was chosen its first presi- 
dent. The society has prospered, and has been efficient 
in its work. The Sunday evening meetings of the 
church for several years have been in charge of the 
Society of Christian Endeavor. In 1888 the church 
was greatly improved and beautified through the efforts 
of this society. A large percentage of the associate 
members have become active members through a union 
with the church. It is to be observed that the society 
was formed at a time when there was a vacancy in the 
pastorate, and the more credit is to be given the young 
people for their effort in its organization. 

The Rev. Edwin Leonard became pastor in 1892. 
Mr. Leonard is a graduate of Bowdoin College and 
Bangor Theological Seminary. He is a man of wide 
reading and good attainments, conservative yet having 
a broad charity for all. He has held pastorates at 
Milton, Rochester, South Dartmouth, Mass., and Morris, 
Conn. The following have been the deacons in the 
church : Daniel Chickering, Calvin Bigelow, James 
Chickering, Prescott Fiske, Eben Higgins, Richard P. 
Mills, James McGill, the Rev. T. S. Norton, Jedediah 
W. Higgins, Allen F. Smith. 



ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY 193 

MILLERITES. 

In that memorable period of religious excitement, 
1843, when William Miller prophesied that the second 
coming of the Messiah was near at hand, this com- 
munity was not exempt from the excitement. Some 
of the disciples of Miller gave up secular work, and 
engaged night and day in prayer and in singing psalms. 
As the appointed day approached, they refused to lay in 
provisions, and even neglected to prepare food as they 
made ready for ascension, 

CATHOLICS. 

While the Baptists early protested against being 
taxed for the support of the First Parish Church, there 
is no record of any opposition from the Catholics.. 
There were, however, some of this faith in town pre- 
vious to the time of the separation of the Church and 
State. The few surviving, members at this time of the 
little company of early Catholics in town have seen 
their number increase and the one church of their faith 
at Natick multiply until Catholic churches are now 
found at South Natick, Medfield, Walpole, Dedham, 
and Needham. 

The Dover Catholics have, perhaps without excep- 
tion, attended or been under the ministration of the 
Natick churches. They were cheerful and liberal con- 
tributors towards the expense of building the Sacred 
Heart Church at South Natick, and since its establish- 
ment have been its devout and loyal supporters. The 
Catholic population is now numerous, and faithful in the 
support of their religion. 



CHAPTER XV. 

CEMETERY. 

First Burial — Land given bv N.a.thaniel Chickering — 
First Gravestone — Hearse — Improvement ano 
Enlargement of the Cemetery — Funeral Cu.s- 
xoMS — Care of Cemetery — Epitaphs — Naming the 
Cemetery. 

Go where the ancient pathway guides, 

See wliere our sires laid down 
Their smiling babes, their cherished brides. 

The patriarchs of the town. 
Hast thou a tear for buried love? 

A sigh for transient power ? 
All that a century left above, 

Go, — read it in an hour. 

— Holmes. 

The history of the burial-place where " the rude fore- 
fathers of the hamlet sleep " should not go unnoticed. 
Covering a period of more than a century and a half, 
" it shows what a graveyard may come to if it lasts long 
enough." 

While "pride, pomp, grief, and remembrance are all 
at an end" to those who rest beneath its sod, let us 
thank God that it is a spot to which reverent feet still 
come, and in which the tears of affection still fall. 

Early in 1700 a determined effort was made by the 
inhabitants of Dedham outside of the village to be 
freed from the minister ta.\ of the First Parish an'd 
allowed to build meeting-houses of their own. 

In the Springfield Precinct previous to 1729-30 all 
burials had been made in the common burial-ground 



CEMETERY 195 

at Dedham, and this practice might have continued 
for many years had it not been for the agitation of 
separation. 

The early settlers, who through labor, privation, and 
suffering cleared their fields and established new homes, 
were held together by many tender ties ; and when they 
determined to take a step they held closely together. 
Having been refused their request to be made a pre- 
cinct, burials in Dedham were no longer to be thought 
of ; and in this determination the people were steadfast. 
On the occasion of the death of John Battle, in Febru- 
ary, 1729-30, but a short time after their futile efforts 
to be made a parish, the inhabitants of " Springfield " 
decided to cut themselves off still further from Dedham 
and make a burial-place of their own. A little plot of 
ground was enclosed on the land of Nathaniel Chicker- 
ing, which he bequeathed in 1746 to the precinct in the 
following words : — 

1 give and bequeath to the West Precinct of the town of Ded- 
ham the burying-ground as it lyeth now within fence, to be for the 
use of the said precinct for a burying-place. 

The body, then, of John Battle was the first to be 
placed in the Springfield Precinct burial-ground. He 
was a grandson of Thomas Battle, the emigrant. The 
burial-ground is first mentioned in the parish records in 
1759, when it was voted "to pay Hezekiah Allen, Jr., 
his charge for building a road from the meeting-house 
to the burial-place." In 1762 the cemetery was en- 
larged by vote of the parish to eight and one-half rods 
in the front, and three years later the plot was enclosed 
by a fence on three sides and a stone wall in front. 



i()6 HISTORY OF DOVER 

It was soon furnished with a gate, as the records of 
the parish show that in 1 77 1 it was voted " to pay for 
hooks-and-eyes with which to tie the burial-place gate." 
Gravestones were not at first set up. The oldest 
stone now standing — a rude field-stone — bears the 
following inscription : — 

In 

Memory of 

John Wight Son 

to Mr. David and Mrs. 

Sarah Wight who died 

Oct. Ye 4th, 

1734- 

In ye 12th year of his 

age. 

As first laid out the burial-ground contained that part 
of the present cemetery which is west of the central 
path and extends from the street back towards the 
tombs. Here and there one can pick out the names of 
many of the families who were the earliest settlers in 
the town. The enlargement in 1 762 included the part 
east of the central path and adjoining the street. At 
the March meeting in 1785 Thomas Richards received 
permission to build a tomb " as proposed and marked 
out." This tomb has been for many years without care, 
and is at present marked by the high mound east of the 
entrance by the central path, and is designated as the 
grave of one who took part in the Revolution. 

All the early residents were borne to the burial- 
ground on a bier, over which was thrown the parish 
burying-cloth, or pall, which was purchased by vote of 
the parish in 1754. A hearse was purchased in 1804, 



CEMETERY 197 

the district having voted " to set up a hearse for the 
convenience of funerals." It was built in town by 
Ebenezer Smith at an expense of one hundred dollars. 

A hearse-house was built, which was not satisfactory 
in its location ; and in 1828 John Williams received 
permission to remove it under the direction of the 
selectmen. The cemetery having been recently en- 
larged by the addition of nearly one acre and a half of 
land, the hearse-house was probably at that time placed 
in its present position. 

There was probably no sexton in the early time. The 
grave-digging was done by the family. John Williams 
was the first sexton of whom we have any record. 

In 1800 it was voted to procure a "new burying- 
cloth," and that " the stone wall on three sides of the 
cemetery be taken down and rebuilt." 

The enlargement of the cemetery in 1826 was made 
wholly on the south side. The land was given by the 
Rev. Dr. Sanger on condition " that it be enclosed with 
a suitable stone wall," which was estimated to cost 
twenty-five dollars and fifty cents. Granite posts were 
erected in 1 826, and gates were furnished a little later. 
The public burial-ground was again a question for con- 
sideration in 1843, 'ii'^cl it was voted "that citizens have 
the privilege of taking up lots in the burying-ground not 
to exceed twenty feet square." Since that time lots 
have been of an established size and taken by deed. 
At the same meeting it was further voted to lay out 
paths and set out trees. Elijah Perry, Calvin Richards, 
and Luther Eastman were appointed a committee "to 
beautify and impro\'e the burial-grounds." The stately 
row of pine-trees in front of the cemetery was set out 



igS HISTORY OF DOVER 

at that time, together with other trees bordering on the 
paths and lots. 

This was the beginning of a new era in the care of 
" God's acre," which hitherto had been allowed to grow 
up to weeds and grass and brush. 

Tombs were erected previous to 1825, the first tomb 
having been built by Seth Wight. 

With the appearance of a bell in the second meeting- 
house in 181 1, the custom obtained for more than 
a half century of announcing deaths by the tolling of 
the bell. The age of the deceased was numbered by 
the strokes of the bell. Originally the bell was tolled 
on the occasion of the death of all residents ; but after 
the organization of other churches it was confined to 
the First Parish, and the practice was altogether given 
up about 1875. 

A committee chosen in November, 1841, "to inspect 
the burying-grovmd and devise a plan for its improve- 
ment," made various recommendations, which were a 
little later carried out in building a face wall ten feet 
nearer the street in front, in constructing a circular 
road and walks ten feet wide from gate to gate. The 
grounds were laid out in lots of uniform size, not ex- 
ceeding twenty feet by twenty, and a record of all sales 
kept by the sexton. The citizens were invited by the 
committee to buy lots, make paths, and set trees. A 
cemetery committee was chosen, and it was made their 
duty to make an annual report to the town. Elijah 
Perry was chosen sexton. 

An appropriation was made in 1843 to meet the 
expense of improvements to the extent of one hun- 
dred and five dollars and seventeen cents. The com- 



CEMETERY 199 

mittee staked out fifty-eight lots sixteen feet by six- 
teen, with alleys four feet by two. The circular road 
was completed in 1845, and new gates put up. At the 
March meeting in 1846 the cemetery committee re- 
ported that they had contracted for a hearse — "similar 
to the new one in East Needham, except that it be 
four inches longer"- — at an expense of one hundred 
dollars. In 1847 the cemetery committee caused the 
old part of the grounds to be dug over, brush and 
roots removed, and to be seeded down to grass. April 
24, 1854, the town instructed the selectmen to procure 
trees and to set them out in the cemetery. 

The spirit of improvement and the tender care of the 
dead was again manifested in 1864, when the town 
voted to enlarge and improve the cemetery. An appro- 
priation of four hundred dollars was made ; and a com- 
mittee consisting of Calvin Richards, George E. Chick- 
ering, and Hiram Jones was chosen to carry out the 
wishes of the town. Mr. Richards retired from the 
committee, and Aaron Bacon was added. The work 
was taken up in a systematic way, a survey made of the 
land, appropriate lots laid out, with drives, avenues, and 
walks. In completing their work the committee made 
some excellent recommendations to the town to ensure 
the further improvement of the cemetery by authorizing 
the cemetery committee to expend each year all moneys 
received from the sale of lots ; and, if this sum was not 
sufficient to keep the cemetery in good condition, they 
were authorized to expend an amount not exceeding 
twenty dollars. They further recommended that all 
purchasers of lots should put them in a condition satis- 
factory to the committee within six months or forfeit 



200 HISTORY OF DOVER 

all title to the same. A purchase has been made of 
additional land consisting of two and a half acres, 
which has not yet been taken into the enclosure. In 
1891 an appropriation was made for a new face wall, 
which was set up during the following year. It is built 
of Milford granite, and is a fine specimen of substantial 
masonry. 

This old cemetery has passed through all stages in 
the evolution of funeral customs and feelings in regard 
to the last resting-place of the dead. At first burials 
were doubtless made without funerals, as was the early 
habit of the people ; but, as the custom grew of having 
public funerals, they became universal and were largely 
attended. The old custom of furnishing gloves at 
funerals is illustrated by the following entry made by 
the Rev. Mr. Townsend, the first minister of Needham, 
on the margin of his almanac: — "April 30, 1750. — 
Mr. Tim. Newell had of me for y^ funeral of Benj, 
Ellis, Jr., of (Springfield) 8 prs. of gloves — one pair 
returned May 10." The evolution in gravestones and 
in inscriptions is well illustrated in this burial-place. At 
first common field-stones were set up with the simplest 
inscription. Later stones were embellished with the 
heads of cherubs. These home-made stones " in their 
rude simplicity are very eloquent, since you can but 
picture to yourself the survivor in a solitary home, work- 
ing slowly and patiently to carve the gravestone of the 
lamented dead." 

These field-stones in time gave place to slate, which 
were followed by marble slabs. Later towering marble 
monuments were erected, which in later years have 
given place to more solid g-ranite monuments. 



CEMETERY 20i 

Th'ere are few quaint inscriptions on the gravestones, 
but there are many original epitaphs which speak of 
the faith, the hope, the trust of succeeding generations ; 
and, of course, that quaint epitaph which, in slightly 
varied forms, has attracted the eye and not irreverently 
amused the mind of many visitors to both European 
and American cemeteries, appears in this one. It is 
found on the gravestone of Samuel Metcalf, who died 
in 1772, and adds another to the almost endless varia- 
tion showed in expressing the same sentiment : — 

" Stop here, my F'riend, and Cast an Eye 
as you are now so Once was I. 
as I am now so you must be 
Prepare for Death and follow me." 

The burial-place has been gradually developed in the 
course of a century and a half from a little neglected 
spot, overgrown with grass, weeds, and brush, into an 
attractive cemetery, which is under the watchful super- 
vising interest of the inhabitants generally and the 
particular care of a board of cemetery commissioners. 
The enclosure has been named Highland Cemetery. 

In all of the one hundred and sixty-five years of its 
existence the old burying-ground has never been en- 
croached upon, or the last resting-place of the fathers 
disturbed. It is believed that, in excavations that 
have been made in the vicinity, no mortuary relics have 
ever been brought to view. Neglected it often has 
been ; and, perhaps, in the early time, like English 
churchyards, it was used for pasture purposes, but 
desecrated never. No record has been kept of the 
number of burials in the enclosure ; and it must be 



2 02 IJISTOKY OF DOVER 

found " in the register of God, not in the record 
of man." Shall we not cherish the spot where, one 
by one, at the call of the grim messenger, have been 
buried the young and the old, the loveliest, the hum- 
blest, and the proudest of those who have dwelt within 
the confines of what we call home ? 

For more than a century the first settlers have been 
but a memory. The grave even of the first minister is 
unknown to many of the merry children who pass it 
daily on their way to school. Until within a very brief 
period the graves of Revolutionary of^cers and privates, 
as well as soldiers in the second war with Great Britain 
and in the late Rebellion, were alike unmarked. But 
now on each recurring Memorial Day the members of 
the Grand Army of the Republic place flowers over the 
silent dust of both the makers and defenders of the 
nation. In the years that have passed, " on how many 
hundred hearts has fallen the sound of the dropping clay 
upon the coffin-lid ! What floods of parental tears have 
moistened that soil, for babes torn away from supporting 
arms, or sons and daughters cut off in youth's bright 
hour of promise ! Parents lamented, lovers parted, wives 
and husbands sundered, — all the sad possibilities of 
grief and separation have hundreds of times been 
experienced within those narrow precincts." 



CHAPTER XVI. 

SCHOOLS. 

First Schoolhouse — Dame School — Appropriation for 
Schools — First Woman Teacher — New England 
Primer — Required Studies — New Schoolhouse — 
School Committee — Superintendent — First Free 
Book — Center School — Sanger School— Organi- 
zation OF High School — East School — West 
School — The South District — North School — 
School Libraries — College Graduates. 

Still sits the schoolhouse by the road, 

A ragged beggar sunning ; 
Around it still the sumachs grow, 

And blackberry vines are running. 

— Whittier. 

Dedham was perhaps the first colonial town to estab- 
lish a free school supported by general taxation. In 
1644 the town set up a free school, built a schoolhouse, 
and supported the school by a general tax. Other 
schools had been established in Massachusetts, but 
none were wholly supported by taxation. The Dedham 
school was practical from the start, and gave elementary 
instruction in English, writing, and arithmetic. The 
instruction in penmanship was thorough, and included 
the art of making and mending quill-pens. 

After the first settlers had passed away, the cause of 
education languished for a time ; but a thorough study 
of the town records shows that this period was not of 
long duration. It is impossible to determine just when 



204 HISTORY OF DOVER 

the first school was opened in the Springfield Parish. 
Before even the precinct was formed, the scattered 
settlers demanded school privileges for their children. 

There was a genuine dame school located on Main 
Street, near the residence of H. R. Stevens, which may 
have been the first school. These early dame schools 
are of interest, where the dame, busy with sewing, knit- 
ting, or weaving, taught the little children their letters 
and told them stories from the Bible. 

" Her room is small, they cannot widely stray ; 
Her threshold high, they cannot run away. 
With bands of yarn she keeps offenders in, 
And to her gown the sturdiest rogue can pin." 

The dame school appeals to our imagination, and shows 
the earliest of many steps from which the present 
school system has been evolved. 

The demand for schools was met by the town for 
many years in the " moving school," which was kept by 
a master for a few weeks in different parts of the town, 
as appointed by the selectmen. Small schoolhouses 
were sometimes erected by individuals. The earliest 
Dover records show the existence of such a schoolhouse, 
which was situated on Haven Street, not far from the 
house of George Ellis Chickering. It was a peculiarity 
of these early schools that the boys were obliged to 
furnish the wood in winter ; and, if the parents sent logs 
too large to be used in the open fireplaces, the boys had 
to cut them up. 

The first separate appropriation for schools in the 
Springfield Precinct was made by the town of Dedham 
m 1726, when it appropriated five pounds to support 



SCHOOLS 205 

a school in the "westerly part of Dedham." Eleazer 
Ellis and Nathaniel Chickering were appointed to see 
that the money was properly expended. The first 
schoolhouse was probably in existence at this time. 
The precinct made the repairs to the building, 
although owned by individuals, as Timothy Ellis was 
paid "■'js. 4<:/." for mending the windows in 1758. In 
1738 one eighth of the appropriation for schools in Ded- 
ham was given to the Springfield Precinct, amounting 
to ten pounds. An equal appropriation was made in 
1743. Little is known of the early schoolmasters, as 
their names are not given in the parish records. They 
were probably for the most part Harvard students, 
many of whom were capable of impressing their person- 
ality on the lives of their pupils. In this age of 
progress, when we have come to recognize the worth 
and work of woman, it is gratifying to know that the 
first woman teacher paid by the town of Dedham for 
teaching was Miss Mary Green, who taught in the 
Springfield Precinct in 1757. The first teacher of 
whom we have any record was William Symmes. 
Closing his engagement here, he became a tutor at 
Harvard College. Mr. Symmes taught here during the 
winter of 1754-55. 

The New England primer, which was in universal use 
at this time, may be contrasted with our beautifully 
illustrated and graded primers of to-day. It is thus 
described by George H. Martin, who has made the early 
schools of Massachusetts a careful study. It began 
with the alphabet, large and small, the vowels and 
consonants, and combinations of these. Then followed 
lists of words for spelling, — - first of two syllables, then 



2o6 HISTORY OF DOVER 

of three, then of four, then of five, ending with " abomi- 
nation," "justification," etc. Then followed some moral 
injunctions: "Fray to God," "Hate Lies"; then some 
Bible questions and answers, "Who was the first 
man ? " then selections from the Proverbs, arranged 
alphabetically, " A wise son," etc. ; then the Lord's 
Prayer, the Apostles' Creed, Watts's Cradle Hymn ; 
then miscellaneous hymns, "Now I lay me," etc. 
Proper names of men and women for spelling followed ; 
then Agur's Prayer, " Give me neither poverty nor 
riches " ; last, the Westminster Shorter Catechism, so- 
called. 

Each edition had a series of cuts illustrating promi- 
nent Bible scenes, each with a couplet condensing the 

narrative, as : — 

" In Adam's fall 
We sinned all." 

The practical selections and pictures varied in differ- 
ent editions. The front picture in some was a child 
repeating his evening prayer at his mother's knee^ in 
others several children standing before the mother, 
while still another represented a school, — a dame 
school. 

Arithmetic, the English language, and orthography 
were made compulsory studies in 1789. Geography 
was not made a required study until 1827. 

As a disciplinary study arithmetic was made very 
prominent in the early schools. The solutions of prob- 
lems were carefully written out in blank-books. Some 
carefully preser\'ed manuscript copies show great ability 
m solving intricate problems, fine penmanship, and a 
degree of neatness which it would be hard to e.xcel. 



SCHOOLS 207 

The " Rule of Three " was made very prominent. 
Among the different subjects were "Fellowship," 
^'Barter," "Tare," and "Tret." Girls were not ex- 
pected to cipher much beyond the four fundamental 
rules. Many rules were given in the arithmetic of this 
period, but no reasons for any of the processes. The 
pupils followed their rules, and performed their problems 
as if by magic. A new era in teaching was introduced 
in the publication of Warren Colburn's " First Lessons," 
which called for the exercise of reason in solving prob- 
lems. In 1 761 the parish had completed its meeting- 
house, and was now anxious to gain better school facili- 
ties by placing the schoolhouse in a more central 
position. The warrant for the March meeting in 1761 
contained an article to see if the precinct would move 
the schoolhouse to a more convenient place, near the 
meeting-house. In case the proprietors refused to 
allow the schoolhouse to be moved, the precinct was 
to consider the proposition to build a new schoolhouse 
and to choose a committee for the same. Some of the 
proprietors refused to give their consent, and at the 
March meeting in 1762 it was voted to build a new 
schoolhouse next to the meeting-house. There seems 
to have been some difificulty in locating the building, as 
the spot was not designated ; and at the annual March 
meeting in 1763 the precinct was asked to locate the 
spot, and at an adjourned meeting held March 21, 
1763, it voted to build a new schoolhouse opposite to 
"ye north side of ye meeting-house." The school- 
house was built on a lot of land four rods square, which 
was given for the purpose by Dea. Joshua Ellis, who 
thus defines the bounds : " The southerly line of ye said 



2o8 HISTORY OF DOVER 

square to bound south on the highway that leads by the 
north side of the meeting-house." 

Daniel Chickering, Asa Mason, and Jonathan Whit- 
ing, Jr., were chosen a committee to prepare material 
and gain authority from the General Court to build a 
schoolhouse. Col. John Jones, Daniel Chickering, and 
Hezekiah Allen, Jr., were chosen a committee to ar- 
range with the town of Dedham for the proportion of 
school money which belonged to the Springfield Pre- 
cinct, and to appropriate the sum towards the building 
of a new schoolhouse. The schoolhouse was com- 
pleted and accepted by the precinct January 20, 1 764. 
It ^cost ^54, 6j-., 4<:/. 

In I ^66 it was voted to divide the school money, the 
different sections of the precinct to draw their propor- 
tional part. The precinct seems to have been divided 
into four distinct districts, — the Center, the East, the 
West, and the Southwest. This division into school 
districts was some years in advance of State legislation, 
which sanctioned such a division in 1789, but did not 
give the school district the power to tax until 1 800. In 
this year districts were authorized to hold meetings, to 
choose a clerk to decide upon schoolhouse sites, to raise 
money by taxation, to pay for land and building, furnish- 
ing, or repairing schoolhouses. In 181 7 the school dis- 
trict was made a corporation, and in 1827 was required 
to choose a prudential committee, who had the care of 
school property in the district and the selection and 
employment of the teacher. The school district now 
became a political institution and worthy of careful 
consideration in the study of civil government. 

The teacher, although employed by the prudential 



SCHOOLS 



209 



committee-man, must present a certificate of qualifica- 
tion from the town committee before opening the 
school. All the money for school purposes was still 
raised by the town, the district being responsible only 
for its expenditure. The division of school money was 
often a perplexing question. Sometimes the district 
drew its proportional part of the school money by the 
scholar, but for the most part it was divided in propor- 
tion as each district paid taxes for the support of schools. 

In 1818 it was voted "that, after deducting the 
money paid for children who attend other schools, the 
Center District shall have three-sevenths, and the East 
and West Schools four-sevenths, of the money remain- 
ing." In the development of the school system, the 
itinerant schoolmaster and the dame school was fol- 
lowed by a school year divided into two terms, — a long 
winter term, and a short summer term which continued 
into August. The school year of twenty-eight weeks 
was divided into three terms in 1869. The school year 
has been gradually increased until now it consists of 
thirty-eight weeks. 

The frugality of the people is illustrated in the selec- 
tion of sites for the schoolhouses. The Center District 
kept its schoolhouse for many years on the public com- 
mon. The West schoolhouse was set on a worthless 
knoll near the geographical center of the district, while 
the Union schoolhouse was built at the junction of 
several roads, on a little piece of worthless land. 

In March, 1774, the precinct voted to build three 
new schoolhouses at an expense of fifty-five pounds ; 
but in April of the same year the vote was rescinded, 
probably on account of the times, which were very 



2IO HISTORY OF DOVER 

threatening and promised war. The precinct in 1781 
again considered the subject of providing schoolhoiises 
for the outside districts, but voted to postpone the 
building of new schoolhouses. We do not wonder at 
this, as they had been so heavily taxed to meet the 
expenses of the Revolutionary War. The only gift 
of money which has ever come to the schools was 
made in 1789 by Dea. Joseph Haven, who presented 
the parish with ;£i3, 6s., ^d. Instead of making it a 
fund the parish voted to take five pounds a year until it 
was spent. The district desired to have charge of its 
school buildings, and in 1790 voted to take possession of 
all its schoolhouses. 

The district voted in 1807 to choose a committee to 
define the limits of the school districts. The Tisdales 
and Simeon Cheney were permitted to send their chil- 
dren to the westerly part of Dedham ; Israel Loring, 
Samuel Perry, and Jacob Marshall, to the First School 
in Natick ; and Eleazer Allen and Jesse Newell, to the 
North School in Medfield. 

In 1825, to meet the requirements of law, the district 
voted " that a committee of freeholders be chosen in 
each school district annually. Said committee with the 
clergyman of the town shall assemble as often as they 
shall think necessary, to counsel on the best methods of 
instruction for each particular school, to provide a suit- 
able instructor, and to examine and recommend such 
books and regulations as they may from time to time 
think proper." 

The first board of school committee was chosen in 
1826, and consisted of the Rev. Ralph Sanger, Noah 
Fiske, and Dea. Ephraim Wilson. The first school 



SCHOOLS 2 1 1 

report was made to the town in 1844. The school 
report was printed for the first time in 185 1, and has 
been printed annually since with but one exception. 

In April, 1865, the town voted to place the schools in 
charge of a superintendent, to be chosen by the school 
committee, at a salary of twenty-two dollars a year. 
The plan worked so well that since that time the 
schools have been in charge of a superintendent. In 
the date of its appointment Dover was among the first 
of the smaller towns in the Commonwealth to elect a 
superintendent of schools. The first free books seem 
to have been furnished in 1828, when the Rev. Dr. 
Sanger was paid three dollars and seventy-three cents 
for books furnished to pupils. It was voted in 1865 to 
furnish school-books at cost, the town paying an agent 
ten dollars a year for supplying the pupils. This cus- 
tom was continued until the introduction of free text- 
books in 1884. 

The children were trained to work in school, and both 
the boys and girls were taught to sew, and some to 
braid straw. The introduction, therefore, of sewing into 
schools is nothing new, but really a very old custom. 

The location of the Center schoolhouse was thought 
to endanger the new meeting-house, so a committee was 
chosen in 181 1 to move the schoolhouse; and it was 
voted " that the house should stand on the district 
land near the southwest corner of the land of John 
Williams, to stand so as to have the south side of said 
building in a range with the fence on the south line of 
said Williams's land." There was an effort made in 
1 81 7 to have the district build a new schoolhouse at the 
Center ; but this troublesome question was settled by 



212 HISTORY OF DOVER 

the vote " that each school district shall build or repair 
its own schoolhoLises." 

In 1824 the district was anxious to displace its old 
and dilapidated schoolhouse with a new one, not only of 
larger proportions, but two stories in height, the second 
story to be used for hall purposes ; and a vote to build 
such a schoolhouse was passed by the district. Later 
this vote was reconsidered, and it was voted to build a 
schoolhouse one story high. The committee did not 
proceed to build; and in 1825 a committee chosen to 
consider the matter recommended that a schoolhouse 
one story in height be built, " that if individuals will 
jaropose and agree to add a second story of eight feet in 
height at their own cost and expense, by their being 
possessed of the exclusive right of improvements, of 
rents and profits of the same, etc., we likewise rec- 
ommend that they may have liberty so to build said 
second story." No propositions having been received 
from individuals, the old building was occupied until a 
new one was built, in 1827. The district petitioned in 
1824 for the improvement of a piece of common land 
containing a quarter of an acre, "for the purpose of 
erecting a schoolhouse with sufficient yard room." 

This request was granted by the district of Dover, 
and bounds were established as follows : " to stand on 
land now owned by Aaron Whiting, at or near the turn 
of his fence, a few rods southeast from land owned by 
the Center School district, and adjoining land or near 
the west end of land owned by the heirs of Samuel 
P^isher." 

The new schoolhouse was thirty-one and one-half feet 
long, twenty-four feet wide, and nine feet high. In 



SCHOOLS 213 

winter it often accommodated ninety scholars. In this 
building the old-time fireplace gave way to a Franklin 
stove, which was considered a great improvement. The 
seats were arranged in long rows across the room in 
terraces, and those in the back seats overlooked all in 
front. 

In 1855 the district voted to move the schoolhouse to 
the common ; and there it remained until 1873, when the 
town purchased the property adjoining the southeast 
side of the common on Center Street, and the school- 
house was moved to the newly purchased lot. The 
building was somewhat improved at this time, and was 
occupied until January, 1888. 

School districts were abolished by the General Court 
in 1869. The school property in Dover was appraised 
by Solomon Flagg, of Wellesley ; Thomas Phillips, of 
Natick ; and Nathan Phillips, of Dedham. The East 
District had the most valuable property, which was 
appraised at seven hundred and twenty-seven dollars. 

The school property at this time was in a bad condi- 
tion, the aggregate valuation amounting to only two 
thousand three hundred and fifty dollars. 

The first public graduating exercises were held in 
1876. A class of four girls received diplomas, which 
were presented by the Rev. Warren H. Cudworth, of 
Boston, with exercises in the First Parish church. 

Singing was introduced into the schools with a special 
teacher in 1887, followed by the introduction of drawing 
in 1896. 

The Sanger schoolhouse was built after plans fur- 
nished by Messrs. Allen & Kenway, of Boston. The 
building in the main is modelled after plans issued 



2 14 HISTORY OF DOVER 

by the United States government as a model country 
schoolhouse. 

While its architectural proportions are good, it is 
unusually well-adapted to school work, being exception- 
ally well lighted, heated, and ventilated. The building 
was named the " Sanger School " in memory of the Rev. 
Ralph Sanger, D.D., who had charge of the Dover 
schools for so many years. At the distance of more 
than a half century we may turn back and read Dr. 
Sanger's words in reference to his long labors for the 
cause of public-school education : — 

I have earnestlv desired that our schools might be so improved 
that every child in our highly favored country may have an oppor- 
tunity of learning, in these invaluable seminaries, all the ele- 
ments of useful knowledge, and thus be prepared to discharge 
incumbent duties with propriety, satisfaction, and honor. Persons 
thus instructed in our common schools will be enabled, and it may 
be hoped, disposed, when they leave school, to carry on the work 
of education still further, to read, study, examine, judge, decide, 
and act for themselves. 

There would then be a community of intelligent, well-informed 
members. And, if such persons should at the same time have 
suitable attention paid to their moral and religious education, 
then the community would consist of virtuous as well as of in- 
telligent members. A virtuous and intelligent community would 
rightly understand, appreciate, improve, and transmit the precious 
privileges which an indulgent Providence has made it our happy 
lot to enjoy. I have earnestly wished that our common schools 
might be so improved as to do their part towards accomplishing 
this desirable purpose, that thus, according to the beautiful 
language of the Psalmist, " Our sons may be as plants grown 
up in their youth ; that our daughters may be as corner-stones, 
polished after the similitude of a palace." Oh, who would not be 
willing to labor and toil for such a glorious object? And labor 
and toil are in no small degree required for this purpose. 



SCHOOLS 



215 



But what good can ever be gained without lalior and pains? 
This is the condition upon which all improvement is made. This 
is the condition upon which all good is procured. This is the 
price which must be paid fo.r it. We must be willing to pay the 
price, or we cannot expect to gain the good. I have, therefore, 
most readily and with great pleasure, done what little 1 could 
to encourage our schools, and in any suitable way and by any 
suitable means to promote the cause of good education here 
and in all places by exciting a taste for reading and intellectual 
improvement. 

Dr. Sanger early saw that a perfect system of public- 
school education — beginning in the elementary school 
— must culminate with the free public library. Con- 
cerning this he said : — 

I have considered it very desirable to encourage in the com- 
munity around me a love of useful reading. For this purpose 
I have lent books of my own, for this purpose I have encouraged 
and taken care of a library, consisting now of more than seven 
hundred volumes, some of them works of standard merit. 

The Sanger schoolhouse was dedicated on Wednes- 
day, January 25, 1888. The report of the building- 
committee was made by Eben Higgins. The keys were 
presented by the Rev. A. E. Battelle and accepted by 
Frank Smith, superintendent of schools. 

Addresses were made by the Hon. George P. Sanger, 
of Boston, and George H. Walton, of Newton, who 
represented the State Board of Education. The dedi- 
catory prayer was by the Rev. A. M. Rice, and the 
benediction by the Rev. T. S. Norton. 

Repeated efforts were made from time to time to 
have the town pay the tuition of pupils in surround- 
ing high schools, but the proposition always failed. In 



2l6 HISTORY OF DOVER 

the division of the Sanger School in 1888 a high- 
school course was introduced, which has since been 
maintained, giving the boys and the girls of the town an 
opportunity to take an English high-school course or 
fit at home for the Massachusetts Agricultural College 
and the several State normal schools. 

The East School was formed and schoolhouse built by 
vote of the district of Dover, April 6, 1785. An appro- 
priation of twenty-five pounds was made, and it was 
voted "that, if this sum is not sufficient to erect the 
schoolhouse, the balance must be raised by the school 
district." The schoolhouse was located nearly opposite 
the house of John Cummings. 

We find women teachers in the East and West Dis- 
tricts in the summer term soon after their organization. 
Mrs. Paul Whiting was paid £,2, %s. in 1790, for teach- 
ing the East School during the summer. 

The present schoolhouse was built in 1850. The 
district did a noble work in adorning the grounds with a 
variety of native trees, and in their growth and beauty 
there is an object-lesson for all. 

The West School was established and an appropria- 
tion made for building the schoolhouse at the same 
meeting, April 6, 1785, and by the same vote as that 
which created the East School. 

The first school was built near the residence of 
Warren Blackman, and was twenty feet long and six- 
teen feet wide. This was a typical eighteenth century 
schoolhouse with its huge fireplace and "back seat," 
which was built against the wall of the room on three 
sides, with a slanting shelf. In front on another lower 
bench were seated the younger pupils who did not write. 



SCHOOLS 



217 



In the center of the hollow square the classes stood for 
recitation. The teacher's desk was placed on the side 
with the door and fireplace. 

In 1 841 the town voted to build a new schoolhouse at 
an expense of three hundred and fifty dollars. The site 
selected was on Farm Street, not far from the present 
schoolhouse. The committee chosen to report on the 
matter of building this schoolhouse said of the old one : 
"The ceiling of the schoolhouse is so low where the 
seats and writing-desks are located that middling-sized 
persons cannot stand erect." This school was attended 
for many years by children from the easterly part of 
Sherborn and Natick. 

We find that Miss Sally Fiske taught this school in 
summer for seventy-five cents a week and her board. 

The present convenient and pleasant schoolhouse was 
built in 1870 at an expense of two thousand dollars. 

The South District was organized in 1766, but no 
schoolhouse was ever built, the children attending the 
school at Walpole Corner from the first. 

The consolidation of schools has been several times 
attempted, the earliest effort being made in 1870, when 
a committee was chosen "to consider the subject of 
uniting the schools, and to look over the whole ground, 
take into consideration the present and prospective 
wants of the different sections of the town, and present 
a plan which shall embrace the number and location of 
the schools to be supported, and the style and character 
of the schoolhouses to be provided, either by repairing 
the old or erecting new ones, and the probable cost of 
each, having regard in each case to the convenience of 
the neighborhood and the good of the whole town." 



2i8 HlSrOKY OF DOVER 

Although the time of the committee for the consider- 
ation of the matter was extended, no plan was matured ; 
and in 1871 the committee was excused from further 
service. The plan of closing the outside schools and 
transferring the pupils to the Sanger School was advo- 
cated in 1888, but was not fully carried out. The town 
refused in 1892 to close the North and West Schools, 
and since that time there has been no discussion of the 
subject. 

In 1789 the South District received its proportional 
part of the money appropriated for schools, and in 
1790 the residents were paid what they had contrib- 
uted towards building a schoolhouse and purchasing 
the land where their children attended school. 

In 1807 the inhabitants of Dover undertook to define 
the limits of their school districts ; but, as all the resi- 
dents were not included in those districts, the Supreme 
Court decided that they were illegally formed. 

The South District was formed by a vote of the town 
in 1838. In 1864 the district voted to unite with Dis- 
trict No. 10 in Dedham and Bubbling Brook District 
in Walpole for a union school. This union was ac- 
cepted by the town of Dover in 1865, and continued 
until the burning of the schoolhouse in the fall of 1893. 

In 1 841, the Center District being much crowded, it 
was voted to organize the West Center School. 

The residents of this new district immediately voted 
to build a schoolhouse, and appropriated five hundred 
dollars. There was much difficulty in locating the 
schoolhouse; and, after rejecting several sites, one of 
which was chosen by the selectmen, the district voted 
to accept a gift of land from George Cleveland, and 
the schoolhouse was built thereon. 



SCHOOLS 219 

About 1850 the schools were all supplied with maps 
and charts, the town having voted " to pay each school 
district eight dollars which should raise a like amount 
for the purchase of maps and charts and apparatus." 

The name of this school was changed to North Dis- 
trict in 1846. The schoolhouse was repaired in 1861 
and furnished with modern seats in place of benches. 
The grounds were enlarged in 1865 to nine rods square 
by gift of land by Eugene Batchelder, on condition that 
the district build a new fence on the west and north 
sides of the lot six feet high, and paint the front part of 
the schoolhouse, the cost of the same to be the consid- 
eration in the deed. In 1891 the schoolhouses were all 
thoroughly repaired, and are now in excellent condition. 
The several rooms have been adorned and beautified 
with a reproduction of Stuart's Washington. " We 
cannot look, however imperfectly, upon a great man 
without gaining something by him." How can patriot- 
ism be better taught than in studying the life and 
character of the " Father of his country " } Flags have 
been presented to all the school buildings. 

School libraries were established through the efforts 
of the Hon. Horace Mann, secretary of the State Board 
of Education, in 1837. The legislature authorized dis- 
tricts to raise thirty dollars for the first year and ten 
dollars for each subsequent year in organizing and main- 
taining school libraries. 

The State Board of Education recommended a list of 
books divided into two classes, one for young people 
and the other for adults, from which school committees 
were authorized to select. The books were named 
"The District School Library." These libraries were 



2 20 HISTORY OF DOVER 

sometimes kept at the schoolhoiise, and again at private 
residences. Dover was among the early towns to avail 
itself of this privilege. In 1842 a resolution was passed 
by the General Court appropriating to each school dis- 
trict, which should raise an equal sum, fifteen dollars 
for library purposes. Under this act the North School 
library was organized in 1842. 

School libraries were revived in 1890, and all the 
schools now have little libraries at hand of carefully 
selected books, numbering several hundred in the 
aggregate. 

The following list contains the names of all persons 
who have received a college education or been mem- 
bers of some college since the organization of the First 
Parish in 1 749 : — 

Nathaniel Battle, Harvard, 1765 

Jabez Chickering, " 1774 

Joseph Haven, '< 1774 

John Haven " 1776 

George Caryl " 1788 

Morrill Allen, Brown, 1 797 

Hezekiah Allen, Harvard, 1800 

William Draper, " 1803 

Jesse Fisher, '< 1803 

Samuel Fisher, " 1810 

Joseph Haven, " 18 10 

Daniel Whiting, Brown, 181 2 

Thaddeus Allen, " 181 2 

Hezekiah Battle, " 1814 

Mason Fisher, Harvard, 1814 

Jesse Chickering, " 181 8 

Fisher Ames Harding <' 1833 

George Partridge Sanger, " 1840 

Simon Greenleaf Sanger, .' " 1848 



SCHOOLS 221 

Anna McGill, Ripon, 1884 

Eleanor Whiting, Wellesley, 1887 

Wallace Rodman Colcord, . Massachusetts Agricultural, 1887 

Martha Elizabeth Everett, Smith, 1888 

Alice Gertrude Coombs, Wellesley, 1893 

Grace Irving Coombs, " 1894 

Charles Herbert Higgins. . Massachusetts Agricultural, 1894 

Margaret McGill, Mount Holyoke, 1894 

Robert Sharp Jones, . . . Massachusetts Agricultural, 1895 

Mabel Colcord, Radcliffe, 1895 

George Freeman Parmenter," Massachusetts Agricultural. 

' Entered 1S96. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

CIVIL HISTORY. 

The Evolution of the Town — Vote of Dedham Town- 
meeting — Act of Incorporation — Board of Dis- 
trict Officers — Annual Town-meetings — Post- 
office. 

Old e\euts have modern meanings : only that survives 
Of past history which finds kindred in all hearts and lives. 

— Lowell. 

The history of the First Parish must forever remain 
as the early history of Dover. Through its develop- 
ment we trace the evolution of the town. 

The inhabitants of the westerly part of Dedham pre- 
vious to 1780 had taken the successive steps which 
ultimately led to the incorporation of the town, in 
having gained through the action of the General Court, 
in 1729, the establishment of bounds; in being freed 
from the minister tax in Dedham, and being allowed to 
worship in neighboring towns, whose churches were 
more accessible to some of the Dover inhabitants ; 
and in having been made a distinct precinct by the 
General Court in 1748. 

For some years previous to the Revolution the inhab- 
itants had chafed under heavy taxation and a small 
representation at the Dedham town-meeting, but the 
great struggle for independence held them together 
and stilled all murmurings. 



CIVIL HISTORY 



223 



With the prospect of peace, however, the old longing 
for separation appeared. At a precinct-meeting held 
October 10, 1780, it was voted "that we desire to be 
incorporated into a town." Nevertheless, no active 
steps were taken towards separation until the next year. 
Col. John Jones, Capt. Hezekiah Allen, Capt. Hezekiah 
Battle, John Reed, and Thomas Burridge were chosen 
a committee, February 16, 1781, to prepare and sign a 
petition to the town of Dedham asking to be set off 
from that town. 

The request was at first refused ; but at a subsequent 
meeting held June 4, 1781, it was granted by the town 
of Dedham upon the following conditions : — 

The question was put whether the town will consent that the 
Fourth Precinct in said town may be incorporated into a town- 
ship, the said town relinquishing their right or share in the work- 
house, school money, all donations, and other public privileges in 
said town. Passed in the affirmative. 

On the 17th of September, 1781, the precinct voted, 
provided they were incorporated into a town by the 
General Court, to relinquish all rights in the property 
of the town. To carry out this plan the precinct ap- 
pointed Col. John Jones, Dea. Joseph Haven, and John 
Reed to petition the General Court for an act of incor- 
poration. This petition was presented January 16, 
1782. 

The bill passed the House, but was unexpectedly 
rejected in the Senate April 23, 1782. Not daunted 
by their failure, the precinct on the 17th of March, 
1784, voted to make another attempt to be incorporated 
into a town. Their earnest desire is set forth in the 
following extract from their petition : — 



2 24 HISTORY OF DOVER 

Those of our members that have attended town-meetings in 
Dedham have been obliged to travel between four and ten miles 
out and as far home, to attend in the First Precinct, the constant 
place of town-meetings in said town; and, by reason of the extra 
distance, the badness of the ways, and sometimes deep snow and 
stormy seasons, there hath not been more than two or three of 
said Fourth Precinct at their town-meetings, when matters of 
great weight are transacted. And a considerable part of said pre- 
cinct are wearied with such unreasonable toil and travel, and 
determined several years ago never to attend another town-meet- 
ing in said place again, and still adhere to their determination, 
whereby the interest of the said Fourth Precinct has frequently 
suffered, and probably sometimes not from any unreasonable de- 
sire in the other precincts to infringe on the interest of the said 
Fourth Precinct, saving that the said Fourth Precinct has never 
been able to obtain a town-meeting in rotation within their limit. 
That the extra expense and charges that would be incurred by 
their being incorporated into a town would be fully compensated 
by their negotiating their affairs within themselves, and without 
much travel ; and, although the said precinct are not many in 
number or opulent and wealthy, they are considerably filled with 
inhabitants and are increasing. But, if they were fewer in num- 
ber, and of less ability, they are under an absolute necessity of 
being incorporated into a town by reason of their irregular form 
and distance from the other precincts. 

The committee of the General Court took this matter 
under consideration, but, in view^ of the smallness of 
the population, decided that the request ought not to be 
granted. The matter having taken this shape, the pre- 
cinct unanimously voted, June 28, 1784, to ask to be 
incorporated into a district, as they could be united with 
another town in the election of a representative to the 
General Court. This matter of the choice of a repre- 
sentative was of importance, as all the inhabitants of 
the State had to be included in representative districts, 



CIVIL H f STORY 



2^5 



and only towns of a given population could send a 
representative to the legislature. The request of the 
petitioners was granted July 7, 1784, in the following 
act of incorporation : — 

Commonwealth of Massachusktts. 

In the \'ear of our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and 
Eighty-four. 

Ah Act for erecting a Distj-ict within the Caiintv of Sufolk 
by the Name of Do7'er. 

Whereas the inhabitant.s of the Fourth Precinct in the town 
of Dedhani in said county have repeatedly and earnestly peti- 
tioned this Court that they may be incorporated into a district, 
and it appears that they labor under great difficulties in their 
present situation. 

Be it therefore enacted by the Senate and House of Repre- 
sentatives in the CJeneral Court assembled, and by the authority 
of the same, that the said Fourth Precinct in Dedham be and it 
hereby is incorporated into a district by the name of Dover, with 
all the powers, privileges, and immunities of incorporated dis- 
tricts [the bounds having been given in a previous chapter are 
here omitted], provided that the freeholders and inhabitants of 
the said district of Dover shall pay their proportion of all taxes 
now assessed by and debts due from the said town of Dedhani, 
and that the said district of Dover relinquish all their rights, title, 
and interest in and to the workhouse, school money, and all dona- 
tions and other public privileges in said town of Dedham. 

And be it . . . enacted by the authority aforesaid that the polls 
and estates in said district of Dover that were returned by the 
assessors for the said town of Dedham on the last valuation, 
which then belonged to said town of Dedham, be deducted from 
the return made by the said assessors, and be placed to the said 
district of Dover until another valuation shall be taken. 

And be it further enacted that Stephen Metcalf, Esq., be and is 
hereby empowered to issue his warrant, directed to some principal 
inhabitant within the said district of Dover, requiring him to 



2 26 J/ISTOKY OF DOVKK 

warn the freeholders and otlier inhabitants within the said district 
of Dover qualified to vote in district affairs to assemble at some 
suitable time and place in the said district, to choose such officers 
as shall be necessary to manage the affairs of said district. 

And be it further enacted that the selectmen of the town of 
Dedham, fifteen days at least before the time of choosing a repre- 
sentative for the said town, shall give notice of the time and place 
bv them ordered for that purpose in writing, under their hands, to 
the selectmen of said district of Dover, to the intent the select- 
men of said district may issue their warrant to the constable or 
constables of the said district, to warn the inhabitants thereof to 
meet with the said town of Dedham at time and place so ap- 
pointed for the choice of a representative. 

In the House of Representatives, July 6, 1784. 
This bill, having had three several readings, passed to be 

Samuel A. Otis, Speaker. 



enacted 



In Senate, July 7, 1784. 
This bill, having had two several readings, passed to be 

Samuel Adams, President. 



enacted 



Approved, John Hancock. 

A true copy. 

Attested: John Avery, Jr., Secretary. 

A district, with the exception of having a representa- 
tive, exercised all the functions of a town, with a full 
board of officers ; and maintained highways, took care 
of the poor, and supported schools. 

The first district-meeting was held in the meeting- 
house August 9, 1784, and the following officers were 
elected : Col. John Jones, district clerk ; Col. John 
Jones, Dea. Joseph Haven, Lieut. Ebenezer Newell, 



CIVIL HISTORY 



227 



selectmen ; William Whiting, treasurer ; Theodore 
Newell, constable and collector. The district made 
liberal appropriations for the support of schools, the 
poor, highways, and for other purposes. May 9, 1785, 
the district united with the town of Dedham in electing 
two representatives to the General Court, both of whom 
were residents of Dedham. In 1789 Dover was united 
with Medfield in electing a representative to the General 
Court, and for forty-seven years the voters annually 
went to Medfield to vote for a representative. At the 
time of its incorporation the district of Dover contained 
a population of four hundred and fifty-three. 

In the early settlement of the parish, cattle, swine, 
and sheep ran at large and were a constant annoyance. 
The selectmen took early action to abate this nuisance ; 
and June 8, 1785, Ebenezer Newell, who lived at the 
center of the district, was appointed pound-keeper, with 
his barnyard for a pound. In 1794 the district provided 
a pound, which was built twenty-four feet square within 
the wall, and cost ^16, i 5^-. 

The public pound can now be seen on the grounds 
of the First Parish. Cattle and swine were allowed to 
run at large as late as 1794. 

It was voted in 18 18 "to restrain all cattle and hogs 
from going at large the year ensuing, but such as the 
selectmen shall see fit to license to run on the common 
with a certain mark upon them, that they may be dis- 
tinguished from others." 

The laws of Massachusetts have always been very 
strict in reference to the maintenance of guide-posts. 
They were of vital importance before the introduction of 
railroads, when all travel was either by carriage or horse- 



\ 



2 28 ///STORY OF DOVER 

back ; and the advent of the bicycle has awakened new 
interest in them. In 1795 the district erected guide- 
posts, or " directing-boards," as they were sometimes 
called, at the junction of the principal streets. These 
guide-posts directed the traveller not only to Boston 
and adjoining towns, but also to Worcester, Cambridge, 
Providence, and Concord, as there was much travel to 
these points. 

Dover's proportion of the debt of Dedham was ad- 
justed by a joint committee of the two towns, December 
31, 1792. It was found that the whole debt of the 
town at the time of the separation was ;^i,346, i u., 
'jd. Dover paid as her part of the indebtedness 

;^285, 8.V. 

The district provided itself with a powder-house in 
1800, which was located on Walpole Street. The 
powder-house was built upon a rock fifteen feet square, 
which was presented to the district by Capt. Samuel 
F"isher. The building was used for the storage of 
ammunition during the second war with Great Britain 
and for some years after, but was removed in 1845. 

There was a discussion in 18 16 in reference to apply- 
ing to the General Court to be incorporated into a town, 
but no definite action was taken. The question was 
not again considered until February 8, 1836, when it 
was voted " that the selectmen petition the General 
'Court to be incorporated into a town with the rights 
and privileges of other towns of the Commonwealth." 
The following is taken from their petition : — 

Your petitioners confidently believe that your honorable 
body will readily perceive the inconvenience to which they are 
subjected annually in transferring their records and travelling 



CIVIL HISTORY 



ZZ(y 



themselves to a distant town to accomplish those objects which 
might be performed in the center of their own population if they 
were incorporated into a town by themselves. 

Having ascertained that they possessed the requisite 
number of polls — one hundred and fifty — to entitle 
them to a representation in the General Court, at the 
March meeting held in Medfield in 1836 it was voted 
that the town request the prayer of their petitioners be 
granted. The General Court acceded to their request^ 
and passed an act of incorporation March 26, 1836. 
Thus, one hundred and seven years after defining the 
original bounds, eighty-seven years after establishing 
the parish, and fifty-two years after the incorporation 
of the district, Dover took its place among the towns, 
of the Commonwealth. 

The people in Massachusetts represented the oldest 
civilization, and were the most distinctively English of 
all the colonies. The government of townships was 
vested in the people ; and once a year from its settle- 
ment to the present time, in the month of March, they 
came together to discuss the affairs of the town, every 
male citizen having a vote and voice in the meeting. 

The town-meeting is an ideal institution, and one that 
we, and our fathers before us, have enjoyed from the 
first settlement of New England. 

At first town-meetings were held monthly ; but as 
early as 1635 these monthly meetings were abandoned, 
and selectmen chosen to represent the town. Special 
town-meetings for the consideration of important ques- 
tions have always been held. It is interesting to go 
back to the early records of the town-meeting, where our 
fathers discussed and voted on those questions which 



230 HISTORY OF DOVER 

led to the Revolutionary War. The town-meetings, 
became of special interest when the British governor 
attempted to impose duties. In Boston, James Otis, 
Samuel Adams, and John Adams became powerful 
leaders ; and it was at these meetings " the child Inde- 
pendence was born." 

In Dedham these matters were also considered, and 
the vote of the town is significant. 

The annual March meeting for the election of officers 
and the transaction of other business has been held in 
Dover every year since 1749. At first it was but a 
parish-meeting, and its action pertained only to the 
affairs of the parish ; but it went right on as a district - 
meeting after the formation of the district of Dover in 
1784, and was taken up as a town-meeting in 1837. 
These annual meetings have always been largely 
attended, and adjourned whenever necessary, although 
it has been customary to hold an annual April meeting. 
While the Church and State were one the town-meeting 
was opened with prayer by the town minister, and the 
custom was continued as long as the Rev. Dr. Sanger 
remained a resident of the town. The practice was 
carried to the schools, and the visit of the minister 
always included a prayer. The town-meeting is the 
strength of the town government, and woe to the 
town official who cannot give in open town-meeting, 
when questioned by the voters, an account of his 
stewardship. The March meeting remains as a re- 
minder of the old-style year, which commenced at the 
vernal equinox in March. The year was changed to 
January i in Great Britain and her colonies by an act 
of Parliament in 1752. Annual printed reports are 



CIVIL HISTORY 



^3' 



of comparatively recent issue, the first printed town 
report having been made by the selectmen to the citi- 
zens in 1846. 

There was a property qualification in Massachusetts 
until within recent years. At first the town warrants 
were issued to " the freeholders and other inhabitants of 
the said Dover that are twenty-one years of age and 
have an annual income of three pounds or an estate of 
the value of sixty pounds." Later the poll-tax was 
made a prerequisite for voting. Within a few )'ears all 
property qualifications have been abolished. The town 
adopted the Australian ballot system in 1891, governing 
the election of all town ofificers. 

The early records are not without warnings for to-day. 
For instance, we wonder if the owners of high buildings 
in our cities or the authorities who allow their erection 
have ever investigated the subject of earthquakes here- 
abouts. The following extracts from Col. John Jones's 
" Book of Minits," published by his grandson, Amos 
Perry, show that five earthquakes occurred here within 
a period of less than twenty-five years : — 

A great Earth Quake October 29, 1729. 

A great Earth Quake Sabbath Day June 3. 1744. 

An Earth Quake February 4. 1 745-<J- 

August 14 1747 Earthquake Sabbath Morning. 

July 10. I 75 1 Earthquake in the morning. 

Farmers will be interested nowadays to note the 
frequency of droughts, as recorded in these quaint early 
records, by Colonel Jones : — 

1746 a great drout in June and July and frost in August, a cold 
fall. Snow October 18. 



232 HISTORY OF DOVER 

I 74S Very dry Summer, 9th of June a fast thro' ye province on 
account of ye drout. 

1749 June 15, A general fast a very great drout. 

June 23, As hot as ever was known — the ground glowed with 
heat — Many fish died insomuch that ye River Stank — Charles 
River ahnost Dry. 

Hay not to be bought in hay time in ye country for 40^-. per 
hundred. 

Later record : — 

After ye Summer season was in a measure over, the Rains 
came and God's Blessing therewith — produced a considerable 
cropp of hay and grass and the creatures were unaccountably 
supported. 

The scattered settlers received their mail for many- 
years from Dedham, from which office it was brought 
over several times a week. A post-office was not es- 
tablished in town until 1838. The mail service was 
excellent for the time, as Dedham lay on the principal 
highway of the country, and the great American mail 
passed through Dedham from the inception of the ser- 
vice in 1693 until 1835. 

At first there was a semi-weekly mail, on Wednesday 
and Saturday. John Williams was the first postmaster. 
He continued in the office until his death, in February, 
1840. 

Mr. Williams was succeeded by the Rev. Ralph 
Sanger, who held the office for twenty years, resign- 
ing in January, 1 860. The office was not moved dur- 
ing Mr. Sanger's administration. With the opening of 
the Boston & Worcester Railroad, the mail was trans- 
ferred to Wellesley and brought to Dover by way of' 
South Natick. Later it was chano-ed to Needham on 



CJVIL HISTORY 



'IZ 



the completion of the Charles River branch railroad to 
that place. It was .during Mr. Sanger's term of office 
that daily mails were established. Isaac Howe was the 
third postmaster, and held the office for thirteen years. 
Upon his resignation in 1875, his son, George L. 
Howe, became his successor. Mr. Howe soon moved 
the office to the railroad station, which was more acces- 
sible than the private residence where it had been kept 
for nearly forty years. When the office was established, 
it was placed in connection with the tavern and store ; 
but both had long since been closed. The mail facil- 
ities have increased from two mails a week in 1838 to 
nine mails a day, with registered letters and money- 
order facilities. 

A post-office was established at Charles River Vil- 
lage through the efforts of Josiah Newell, who was 
appointed the first postmaster. The office was estab- 
lished with the understanding that the mail, taken at a 
convenient point, should be carried by those interested 
without e.xpense to the government. Previous to the 
opening of this office the residents got their mail at 
Dover. William M. Richards succeeded Mr. Newell as 
postmaster about 1855. With the completion of the 
railroad the office was moved to the depot. 

It is worthy of note that, with the exception of the 
Rev. Dr. Sanger, the postmasters of Dover have all 
been of one family, who have cared for the office in 
all the fifty-nine years of its existence. 

Although Dr. Ames, of Dedham, and other prominent 
physicians practised in the Springfield Parish, doctors 
were not within ready call ; and the people learned to 
depend upon themselves in ordinary illness and to use 



234 HISTORY OF DOVER 

the simple herbs at hand for remedies. Even at a later 
period physicians who had taken .degrees at Harvard 
College, and studied medicine with prominent practi- 
tioners, knew nothing of children's diseases, and, when 
called to a sick child, would, after a hasty examination, 
turn the little sufferer over to some woman who had had 
experience in rearing a family and consequently knew 
more than the physician about children. 

Accounts might be given of surgical operations in 
amputations and other cases before the discovery of 
anaesthetics that were most touching and heart-rending, 
as the subject, strapped upon a table, had to endure 
in full consciousness the pain of a surgeon's knife- 
George Caryl, M.D., is the only resident physician the 
place has ever had. He was a native of Dover, and 
graduated at Harvard University in 1788. Dr. Caryl 
studied medicine with Dr. Samuel Willard, a noted 
physician of Uxbridge, Mass. He afterwards studied 
for a time in Boston. Dr. Caryl commenced to prac- 
tise medicine in 1790, and was active in his profession 
until the time of his death, in 1822. He was a skilful 
physician, and had an extensive practice in this and 
adjoining towns. 

Dr. Caryl dispensed his own drugs, which consisted 
largely of pills, potions, salves, and blisters. Some of 
his medicines .still remain just as he left them in his 
saddle-bag more than a half century ago. Calomel and 
laudanum were the popular remedies of the day. Like 
all physicians of his time. Dr. Caryl pulled teeth with 
a " turnkey," having first cut round the gum with a 
lancet. 

The custom of reckoning by shillings, six to a dollar, 



CIVIL HISTORY 235 

was long kept up after the decimal system of money 
had been established by law. 

Much Mexican silver was used, and a sixteenth of a 
dollar (six and one-fourth cents) was called a "four- 
pence ha' penny " ; an eighth of a dollar (twelve and a 
half cents) was called " ninepence " ; thirty-seven and a 
half cents was called "two and threepence" ; sixty-six 
and two-thirds cents, " four shillings " ; eighty-three and 
a third cents, "five shillings." 

In trade, dealers usually took the fractional part. 
One instance is known where a Dover storekeeper cut 
a cent in halves rather than lose the half cent which 
was due him in trade. Half cents were at one time in 
circulation. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

CIVIL HISTORY.— Continiu'd. 

Hartford Turnpike — Small - pox — Fire - engine — Tav- 
ern-keepers — Proprietors' Library — How the 
Poor were cared for — Town Hall — Town Library 
— Agricultural Library — Representatives to the 
General Court — Selectmen — Town-clerks — 
Treasurers — Superintendents of Schools. 

" The old turnpike is a pike no longer : 
Wide open stands the gate." 

Before the advent of railroads, turnpikes were built 
for stage-routes and the accommodation of persons trav- 
elling across the country. Then turnpikes were usually 
built in a straight line over hill and through dale with- 
out any deviation. Although laid out by surveyors, the 
fact was not recognized that it is generally no farther 
around a hill than over it, and that a road built on the 
latter plan would be easier to construct and maintain,, 
would admit of more rapid travel and the support of 
greater burdens, with less wear and tear on horse and 
vehicle than one built in a straight line. 

When the Hartford turnpike was contemplated, it 
was the purpose of the company to pass near Dover 
Center ; but this proposition met with such strenuous, 
opposition on the part of Samuel Fisher, the principal 
landowner, that it was carried much farther south, and 
but touched the town. This turnpike came into exist- 
ence by an act of the General Court, March 9, 1804. 



CrVIL HISTORY 



237 



Toll-gates were established. The tolls in this town 
were collected for nearly twenty years near the house 
of the late William Tisdale. A line of stage-coaches 
was run over this turnpike from Boston to Hartford, 
where connections were made for New Haven and New 
York. The first exchange of horses was made at Med- 
field, and the approach of the stage-coach was always 
announced by the bugle. 

Before the discoveries of vaccination small-po.\ was 
considered one of the worst diseases to which flesh is 
heir. The only known remedy for this fatal and pesti- 
lential disease was inoculation with the virus of small- 
pox. In 1792 the district voted Jo make the house 
of Hezekiah Battle a hospital for the inoculation and 
treatment of small-pox. As the disease was so in- 
fectious it was necessary to have a house somewhat 
isolated and to maintain the strictest quarantine. The 
following committee, made up of some of the most 
prominent citizens, was chosen to establish the bounds : 
Dea. Joseph Haven, Nathaniel Chickering, Aaron 
Whiting, Ebenezer Battle, Capt. Samuel Fisher, Capt. 
Hezekiah Allen, and Joseph Fisher. 

A fine of sixty dollars was voted against any one 
who should cross the bounds. Twenty-four days was 
allowed in which the inhabitants could present them- 
selves for treatment. A large number of young men 
and young women were inoculated for the small-pox, 
together with the virus of the itch. The small-pox so 
completely worked in the system that it eradicated the 
itch, and it is said the subject would never again 
contract the disease. The diet of the patients while in 
the hospital excluded all fatty foods, and consisted 



238 HISTORY OF DOVER 

largely of brown bread and molasses. It is presumed 
that Dr. George Caryl had charge of the hospital. At 
another time a small hospital was established on Pegan 
Hill. May 14, 1896, marked the centenary of the 
operation of vaccination on the first child in England. 
Through this discovery and the practice of vaccination 
small-pox has been almost entirely wiped out, and what 
was once a deadly scourge is now a comparatively mild 
disease. 

In 181 1 the selectmen received a petition from resi- 
dents, largely in the westerly part of the town, asking 
the district to consider some means of extinguishing 
fires. The following committee, Benjamin Guy, Jr., 
John Plimpton, Seth Mason, Noah Fiske, Jonathan 
Battle, Jr., Obed Hartshorn, Benjamin Guy, James 
Mann, and Draper Smith, were chosen " to draft some 
plan of such an engine or machine to extinguish fire as 
will be suitable for the district, and to calculate the 
probable cost of the same." The committee was not 
able to devise anything which was acceptable to the 
district ; and, although the matter was frequently dis- 
cussed, no provision was made for extinguishing fires. 
In 1858 the town was asked to "provide a set of fire 
hooks, ladders, axes, and carriage for the same"; but 
no favorable action was taken by the town on the sub- 
ject until 1896, when a committee was chosen and an 
appropriation of five hundred dollars made for the 
purchase of a wagon, ladders, and chemical fire- 
extinguishers. 

The colonial tavern was next in importance to the 
meeting-house, and the one usually stood in close prox- 
imity to the other. The warmth of the tavern fire was 



CIVIL HISTORY 



!39 



always welcome in winter to the men who congregated 
on all public occasions at the meeting-house. Before 
the advent of newspapers all news emanated from the 
tavern. 

A public inn was opened at the center of the parish 
long before the breaking out of the Revolution. Eben- 
ezer Newell, who settled here previous to 1750, was an 
inn-holder. He moved from Needham, and was a 
cooper by trade ; but there is no evidence that he fol- 
lowed this occupation here. He probably opened a 
public house near the spot which for so many years 
was occupied by a tavern. Mr. Newell doubtless kept 
a store in connection with his inn. Later John Reed, 
who lived on the Sanger place, opened a tavern in com- 
petition with his neighbor ; but it was not long contin- 
ued as a public house. 

Parish-meetings were sometimes adjourned to the 
inns of both Newell and Reed. The Williams Tavern, 
which occupies such a conspicuous place in the center 
of the town, was 

" Built in the old colonial day. 
When men lived in a grander way. 
With ampler hospitality." 

The great room was the important part of all taverns, 
with its oak floor, large fireplace, chests, forms, and 
chairs. The "buffet," built into the corner, furnished 
in the early time an important adjunct to the Williams 
Tavern. 

The flip iron, which was in constant use, was near at 
hand, and is still in existence. John Williams added 
to the building the wing which extends northward, 



2 40 HISTORY OF DOVER 

and thus provided a store and dance hall, where many 
social gatherings were held for young and old. In one 
of the old chests can be seen to-day the balls which 
were used in playing ninepins. 

In this old tavern the people congregated, exchanged 
news, gossiped, and held many a political caucus. The 
Williams Tavern has a pathetic interest. In the 
"great" room the "Sons of Liberty" congregated; 
and here were discussed, by the most prominent citi- 
zens, the affairs of the colony in the trying time of the 
Revolution. 

This was a favorite resort for horse-jockeys, as the 
ample grounds around the tavern furnished an excellent 
place in which to show the qualities of their steeds. 
They often met here by appointment to swap horses, 
which was the usual method of trade in those days. 

On training-days the common in front of the tavern 
was used for training purposes, and presented a very 
animated scene. The tavern was a lively place at 
morning and evening, as the farmers engaged in team- 
ing never failed to call at the door. Early in 1800 
John Williams purchased the tavern property, and for 
many years carried on the business in connection with 
a livery-stable. The Woonsocket line of coaches daily 
stopped at the door. At one time the tavern was run 
by Mr. Williams's son-in-law, Isaac Howe, who was 
connected for many years with that ancient hostelry, 
the Lamb Tavern, which occupied the site of the 
present Adams House in Boston. 

The business practically died with Mr. William.s. 
The sign-board of the Williams Tavern was a conspicu- 
ous feature, and was hung from an elm-tree across the 



^T- S-^ 



i^m^- 



\i 






./« .V- 



.V^ 



1;^ 






CIVIL HISTORY 



241 



road. The old board can still be seen, and bears on one 
side the picture of a lion and on the other a tiger, with 
the name of the proprietor, John Williams, beneath. 
The Dover tavern, from the start, was not much used 
by guests who tarried, but rather as a stopping-place 
for those who journeyed and as a place of resort for 
the people of this and surrounding towns. On Thanks- 
giving eve the farmers engaged in turkey-shooting, the 
fowls being arranged on the area back of the tavern. 
Many a farmer paid a dear price for his Thanksgiving 
turkey, but the sport of turkey-shooting fully compen- 
sated for any excess of cost. 

The tavern-keeper in the early time was a personage 
of vast importance and often the most important man 
in town. Ebenezer Newell was for many years a mem- 
ber of the Dedham board of selectmen. He was one 
of a committee of three appointed by the town in 1774 
to see that none of the inhabitants of the parish drank 
any India tea. Mr. Newell was a lieutenant in Captain 
Guild's company of minute-men at the Lexington 
alarm, and later served in the Continental Army. 

Daniel Whiting, who succeeded Ebenezer Newell as 
proprietor of the village tavern, held the most promi- 
nent position among Dedham citizens in the Revolution- 
ary War. He took part in the battle of Bunker Hill, 
and held the successive offices of lieutenant, captain, 
major, and lieutenant-colonel in the Revolutionary 
Army. John Reed was a prominent citizen, and one 
of the petitioners for the organization of the town of 
Dover in 1782. 

John Williams was a man of large influence, and a 
deputy sheriff in Norfolk County. He was one of the 



2 42 HISTORY OF DOVER 

proprietors of the Boston and Woonsocket line of 
coaches. He extended the business of the place many- 
fold, and kept a first-class inn. We can easily see how 
important the tavern was in the early time to civiliza- 
tion. Before the day of newspapers the farmers gath- 
ered at the tavern, and over a mug of flip or black- 
strap discussed the news of the day. 

In the changes brought by time much of the old- 
fashioned fellowship and hospitality has departed. 
Writers are prone to dwell on the stern facts in the 
lives of our ancestors rather than upon the soft touches 
of social and domestic life. With all their trials and 
sacrifices they had much social pleasure and enjoyment. 
Farmers would take more trouble and spend more 
time in perpetrating a joke on a neighbor around the 
tavern fire than most men would spend to-day in 
establishing an industry. 

Public balls were frequently held at the Williams 
Tavern, and always called forth a large company from 
this and surrounding towns. Card-playing was an im- 
portant factor in the entertainment of the time, and 
whole days and evenings were often given up to the 
game. 

We think of the women of that period as spending 
their days in spinning, weaving, or knitting ; but they 
had much recreation in public balls, quilting-parties, and 
singing-schools, which were the beginning of many a 
courtship in the early time. Union singing-schools, 
which were very enjoyable, were often held at the 
tavern, the singing-master inviting the members of his 
several schools in other towns to unite for the evening. 
The main part of the Williams Tavern was built before 



CIVIL HISTORY 



^43 



the Revolutionary War; and for nearly a century it 
stood to 

"Welcome the coming, 
Speed the parting guest." 

The Massachusetts legislature legalized the estab- 
lishment of proprietors' libraries in 1799. ^^'hether 
a library had been organized in this parish previous to 
that time is unknown. When the Rev. Mr. Sanger 
married, and established his home in Dover, in 181 7, 
he took the " Proprietors' Library " into the parsonage, 
and continued as its librarian for more than forty years. 
It was a library of more than two hundred volumes 
when Mr. Sanger received it ; and it must then have 
been in existence for some years, as books were added 
but slowly in those days. Its organization, therefore, 
may antedate the beginning of the present century. 
Mr. Sanger fostered the library ; and at the close of his 
active ministr}', in 1858, it contained more than seven 
hundred volumes. 

The books were carefully selected, and represented 
the standard literature of the day in books of travel, 
biography, history, together with the few books of 
standard fiction of that time. 

The library was largely patronized, and had a great 
influence in moulding the character and forming a liter- 
erary taste among the rising generation. The Rev. 
Calvin E. Stowe, in presenting the library with a copy 
of his translation of the "Hebrew Commonwealth," 
makes the following acknowledgment on the fly-leaf 
of the volume : — 

To the Dover Library, from the Translator, in grateful re- 
membrance of the benefit which he derived from that library in 
his early youth. 



2 44 HISTORY OF DOVER 

The circulation of the books was not confined to the 
town. Residents of Natick and Needham were allowed 
access to the library on equal terms with the residents. 
The library was maintained for many years with great 
pride, and Dover was often congratulated on the pos- 
session of so fine a library. It was for many years, to 
all intents and purposes, a town library. Mr. Sanger 
was the minister of the whole people, and his was the 
only church in town. After the organization of the 
Baptist and Second Congregational Churches, it became, 
however, more of a parish library ; and the circulation 
of books was largely among the people of the First 
Parish Church. 

The library was open for the delivery of books on 
Saturday afternoons, twice in each month. The books 
were placed in substantial book-cases, and the library 
was kept in excellent condition. The dignity of the 
librarian called for the strictest propriety ; and the 
decorous conduct of the young people is recalled to this 
day. After the destruction of Mr. Sanger's house, in 
1857, the books were removed to the residence of Isaac 
Howe, but were not circulated. 

Mr. Sanger recognized the limitations of an associate 
library, and suggested the organization of a town library 
in the following words : — 

Such a library would be the property of the town, and would 
be open to every family in the town. Its privileges would be 
shared alike by all, whether rich or poor. Like the sun and air, 
it would shed its enlightening and healthful influence upon all. 
Our schools teach all who attend them to read; but many who 
have learned to read cannot, after they have left school, procure 
many valuable books which it would be pleasant and useful for 
them to peruse. 



CIVIL HISTORY 



= 45 



A town library could furnish them such books, and would be 
advantageous to yourselves, to your children, and to unborn 
generations. 

At the time of the incorporation of the district of 
Dover the citizens were nearly all poor, in the general 
acceptance of that term ; but there were few paupers. 
The Revolution had entailed a fearful expense in in- 
creased taxation, great loss had been sustained in the 
depreciation of currency, in some instances what 
formed the accumulated savings of years had been 
swept away. Some of the young men left, with their 
families, and settled at Westminster, Lunenburg, and 
others went as far as Vermont. 

A township in Massachusetts is only under obliga- 
tions to support paupers born within its limits or who 
have " acquired a settlement " therein. Early precau- 
tions were taken that undesirable persons should not 
become a public charge. The first warrant of the 
selectmen, issued August 21, 1784, was to Theodore 
Newell, constable, directing him to warn Joseph 
Senaah, a negro or mulatto, received as a boarder by 
James Draper, to depart from the district. The select- 
men issued frequent warrants to the constable that 
" you are hereby required forthwith to warn and cau- 
tion the persons hereafter named to depart out of the 
district of Dover within fourteen days." 

Such entries as the following were often made in the 
records: "March 7, 1792. I was informed by Seth 
Wight that he had taken in a girl from the town of 
Sherborn, into his family. Name is Polly Rice. Came 
to his house August 16, 1791." 

The poor at first were boarded in families, but later 
an almshouse was established. 



246 HISTORY OF DOVER 

The selectmen purchased the William Bacon place 
on Pine Street in 1817, which was used for some years 
as an almshouse. The district sold the farm at public 
auction, April 18, 1825, to Jonathan Whiting for four 
hundred and fifty-five dollars. It contained fifteen 
acres with house and barn. 

March 5, 1821, it was voted "that the paupers be 
put out at auction to those who will take them on 
the best terms, excepting those as in the opinion of the 
overseers could not be put up at auction for the advan- 
tage of the district." The public auction took place at 
the tavern March 19, and was a most pathetic scene. 
Later the board of overseers of the poor provided for 
paupers in private families or by giving them a stated 
monthly allowance. Dea. Joseph Larrabee in 1865 be- 
queathed to the town all his property in the following 
will : — 

In the name of God, I, Joseph Larrabee, of Dover, in the 
county of Norfolk and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, being 
in feeble health, but of sound and disposing mind and memory, 
do make this my last will and testament. I commit my soul to 
God, the author of it, and my body to the earth, to be decently 
buried at the discretion of my executor hereinafter mentioned. 
As to my worldly estate, I hereby dispose of the same in the fol- 
lowing manner : First, I order that my funeral expenses and all 
my just debts be paid out of my personal and real estate ; second, 
I give, bequeath, and devise to the inhabitants of the aforesaid 
town of Dover all my real and personal estate, wherever found 
and not otherwise disposed of, to be forever held by said inhabi- 
tants and their successors. 

The income, profits, rents, and receipts thereof shall be used 
for the relief, comfort, and benefit of the poor persons who have 
a legal settlement in said Dover, the same to be under the direc- 
tions and at the discretion of three trustees, who shall be chosen 



CIVIL HISTORY 



247 



by the legal voters of said town of Dover at a meeting legally 
called for that purpose, and said trustees shall hold their office 
for the term of five years and until others are legally chosen. 

I recommend that said trustees use at their discretion a portion 
of said income for the relief and comfort of worthy ao-ed and 
feeble persons who are not able wholly to maintain themselves. 

I hereby nominate and appoint Calvin Richards, Esq., of said 
Dover, to be sole executor of this my last will, directing my said 
executor to pay all my debts and funeral expenses. 

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal, 
and publish and declare this to be my last will and testament in 
the presence of the witnesses named below, this fifteenth day of 
May, in the year of our Lord, 1865. 

So long as the parish and town were one, the people 
naturally assembled in the meeting-house for all public 
gatherings. A few years previous to the separation of 
the town and parish an effort was made to build a town 
hall in connection with a new schoolhouse in the 
Center District ; but the proposition did not have a 
hearty support, and failed. After the burning of the 
meeting-house in 1839 ^^e town chose a committee, con- 
sisting of Capt. Walter Stowe, Capt. Lowell Perry, 
Jeremiah Marden, Capt. John Shumway, and Joseph A. 
Smith, to confer with the First Parish, and see if 
arrangements could be made by which the town could 
build a vestry under the new church, to be owned and 
controlled by the town. Mutually favorable terms were 
arranged with the parish committee ; and the town 
voted to build a vestry forty feet long, twenty-seven 
and three-fourths feet wide, and eight feet high, at a 
cost of three hundred dollars. 

This vestry, or "town hall," as it was called, was first 
occupied December 2, 1839. ^^ was immediately im- 



248 HISTORY OF DOVER 

proved by building a porch over the door. This 
arrangement served the town cheaply for many years ; 
but, as it was dark, damp, and poorly ventilated, early 
efforts were made to furnish a more suitable place. In 
1859 Aaron Bacon and thirty-eight others petitioned 
for the building of a town hall. The question was con- 
sidered by the town, but finally failed. The war and a 
burden of debt prevented the farther consideration of 
the subject for many years. The town appropriated in 
1879 three thousand dollars, and voted to build a town 
hall on the common, with Eben Higgins, Warren 
Sawin, and William A. Howe as a committee to pro- 
cure plans for a building adapted to the wants of the 
town. The committee reported in favor of erecting a 
two-story building. The plan did not meet with uni- 
versal acceptance, but the committee was instructed 
to proceed with the work. A commanding site on 
the common facing Springdale Avenue was selected. 
The work progressed rapidly ; and the building was 
boarded and slated, when on the afternoon of July 16, 
1879, i^ ^"^^ struck by a cyclone, and completely de- 
molished. 

One of the workmen was killed, and others injured. 
After much deliberation the town voted to commence 
again, and put the work in the hands of the selectmen, 
Capt. John Humphrey, Barnabas Paine, and Asa Tal- 
bot. The town sustained a loss of nineteen hundred 
and twenty-six dollars and eighty-five cents in the 
destruction of the first building. Another appropria- 
tion was made. The committee made arrangements 
with the contractor of the first building, Herbert 
Moseley, of Needham, to erect the new one. 



CIVIL HISTORY 249 

The committee chose another site on the same 
avenue, and decided to build a one-story hall with 
basement, after plans made by Thomas W. Silloway, 
of Boston. The building has good appointments, with 
several ante-rooms besides its main room, seating four 
hundred, with ample stage facilities. It is finished in 
hard wood and handsomely frescoed. The tower, which 
rises from the ground, is surmounted with a flag-staff. 
The building, when completed and furnished, cost four 
thousand four hundred and ninety-nine dollars and four 
cents. 

The town relinquished in 1889 all rights and title to 
the old town hall. The whole property now belongs to 
the First Parish. 

The town hall was dedicated June 17, 1880. John 
C. Coombs was president of the day. The report of 
the building committee was read by the chairman, Capt. 
John Humphrey. The dedicatory prayer was offered 
by the Rev. Horatio Alger, of South Natick. The 
address was delivered by Frank Smith. Short ad- 
dresses were made by many friends ; and the exercises 
closed with the singing of the following ode, composed 
for the occasion by the Rev. Charles C. Sewell, of 
Medfield: — 

The paths of knowledge to pursue, 

To store the mind with truth, 
Employment give to highest powers, 

Life's duty teach to youth ; 

To gather from historic page 

The story of the past, 
And trace the lines on Nature's face 

No human hand e'er cast, — 



!50 HISTORY OF DOVER 

These are the ends at which we aim, 

And to them consecrate 
The house we build with Hberal hand, 

And now we dedicate. 

In moral good, pure social joys 
Which leave no sting behind, 

The spirit, worn by daily toil. 
Refreshment here shall find. 

The citizen shall quickened be 
To seek the public good. 

The public feeling elevate. 
And right make understood. 

Let voice of passion ne'er ring here, 
Nor din of strife be heard ; 

Nor principle give place to wrong. 
No enmity be stored. 

Sacred the rights of each be held, 
To be maintained by all ; 

And all for common good alone 
Echo each other's call. 

Lord, hear our heartfelt, earnest prayer. 
And grant thy blessing here. 

That hence for wisdom, virtue, peace. 
This place to all be dear. 



There was an immense attendance, and the hall was 
beautifully decorated with potted plants. Appropriate 
music was rendered by an orchestra and quartette. 
With the growth of orders and the establishment of a 
public library, the town hall was found to be inadequate ; 
and in the spring of 1893 the town appointed Eben 
Higgins, Barnabas Paine, and Benjamin N. Sawin a 
committee to consider the improvement of the building. 




TOWN HALL. 



CIVIL HISTORY 



251 



The committee presented several plans, but suggested 
the raising of the building and putting underneath a 
story eleven feet high. The report of the committee 
was accepted, and the town voted to raise the buildino- 
The work was completed during the fall of 1893 at a 
cost of three thousand five hundred and ninety-four 
dollars and twenty-eight cents. The present propor- 
tions of the town hall are forty feet by sixty, with 
thirty-foot posts. A fine banquet hall, library, kitchen, 
toilet and town officers' rooms were provided, with a 
fireproof vault for the protection of town records. 

The citizens placed a beautiful piano in the town hall 
in 1887, which was manufactured by a native of the 
town, Samuel G. Chickering, of Boston. The piano 
was dedicated on the evening of March 29 with a fine 
musical and literary programme. Later the instrument 
was presented to the town. 

Noanet's Hall was situated at Charles River Village, 
and was owned by Josiah Newell. Here for more than 
half a century were held the social gatherings of the 
neighborhood and often of the town. Here was organ- 
ized in 1 818 the first Sunday-school. In this hall were 
held the public religious services which led in 1881 to 
the organization of the Union Congregational Society. 
Finally the building was destroyed by fire. 

The Rev. Dr. Sanger, who had done so much to cul- 
tivate the reading habit of the people, first in the circu- 
lation of books from his own library and later in the 
care of the Proprietors' Library through many years, 
saw the importance of establishing a public library, as 
has already been shown, which would be free from the 
limitations of a church or a proprietors' library. In 



\ 



252 HISTORY OF DOVER 

1859 I-^^- Sanger made a proposition to the town in 
reference to establishing a free Hbrary, offering to give 
his right in the Proprietors' Library to the town. 
This offer was accepted ; but the library was never 
established, although the subject was several times con- 
sidered in town-meeting. The matter was finally 
dropped, a committee of the town having reported 
against it. In 1891 an effort was made to accept the 
provisions of the General Statutes, by which small 
towns are aided in the establishment of free public 
libraries. This effort likewise failed, but two years 
later it was accepted. At the annual March meeting 
in 1894 Walter Storrs Bigelow, John C. Coombs, and 
George L. Howe were chosen trustees. A room was 
fitted up in the town hall at an expense of three hun- 
dred dollars ; and a library of more than five hundred 
volumes was opened for the distribution of books, De- 
cember 22, 1894. The books were catalogued in the 
most thorough manner, and the library was selected 
with great care. It now numbers eleven hundred 
volumes. 

About forty years ago an agricultural library was 
organized through the labors of an enterprising pub- 
lishing-house. The books were not of marked value. 
They were little read and soon ceased to circulate. 



REPRESENTATIVES TO THE GENERAL COURT. 

Dedham recognized the Springfield Parish in electing 
Ebenezer Battle to the General Court in 1781. The 
district of Dover was united with Medfield in forming a 
representative district from soon after its incorporation 



CIVIL HISTORY 



253 



to the organization of the town in 1836. Durino- this 
period Dover sent only one resident to the General 
Court. 

The Rev. Dr. Sanger was the first representative 
after the incorporation of the town. The list is as 
follows : — 



Calvin Richards, 1830-31. 
Ralph Sanger, 1S37. 1845, 

1847, 1851, 1S54. 
Calvin Richards, 2d, 1S40, 1852. 
Elijah Perry, Jr.. 1846. 
Constitutional Convention, 

1853, Luther Richards. 



Henry Horton, 1858. 
Theodore Dunn, 1864. 
Abner L. Smith, 1869. 
Amos W. Shumway, 1871. 
John Humphrey. 1877. 
Frank Smith, 1887. 





SELECTMEN. 




(The final figure stands for number 


of years of service after 


first election.) 


Fisher Allen, 


17S6-4 


James Chickering, 


1871-2 


Jared Allen, 


1842 


William Cleveland, 


1S53-1 


Timothy Allen, 


1793-3 


Bailey Cobb, 


1842-2 


Timothy Allen, 2d, 


1 835-1 


Jesse Draper, 


1805-10 


Aaron Bacon, 


1849-2 


Luther Eastman, 


1837-2 


George JJattelle, 


T88S-I 


George D. Everett 


1865-3 


John Battelle, 


1S46-3 


Samuel Fisher, 


1 791-6 


Sherman Battelle, 


1846 


Noah Fiske, 


1824-4 


Ebenezer Battle, 


1792-2 


Prescott Fiske, 


1879 


Jonathan Battle, 


1804 


John P. Ford, 


1S49-2 


Jonathan Battle, Jr.. 


1816-3 


Henry Goulding, 


1845 


Ralph Battle, 


1828-4 


Joseph Haven, 


1785-2 


Charles A. Bigelow, 


1863-3 


Noah Haven, 


1796 


Linus Bliss, 


1S64 


J. \V. Higgins, 


1 890-6 


John Burridge, 


1805-2 


Henry Horton, 


1858-3 


Simeon Cheney. 


1802-5 


Albion H. Howe, 


1867-2 


George Chickering. 


1824 


Alonzo Howe, 


1847 


George E. Chickering 


1869-1 


John Humphrey. 


1876-4 



'■54- 



HISTORY OF DOVER 



Adam Jones, 


1793-4 


Richard Richards, 


1 795-1 


Hiram W. Jones, 


1836-3 


William Richards, 2d, 


1828-1 


John Jones, 


1785 


Benj. N. Sawin, 


1855-ir 


Daniel Mann, 


1809-17 


Warren Sawin, 


1874-1 


James Mann, 


1 786-8 


Amos W. Shumway, 


1847-23 


James Mann, Jr., 


1833 


A. W. Shumway, 2d, 


1895 


Simeon Mann, 


1817-1 


Abner L. Smith, 


1863-7 


James McGill, 


1887-4 


Chai'les H. Smith, 


1882-6 


Ebenezer Newell, 


1785-5 


Joseph Smith, 


1893-1 


Jesse Newell, Jr., 


1837-4 


Joseph A. Smith, 


1844 


Josiah Newell, 


1805-13 


Lewis Smith, 


1808-1 


Thomas C. Norton, 


1 880-1 


Walter Stowe, 


1833-5 


Barnabas Paine, 


1873-6 


Asa Talbot, 


1869-8 


Elijah Perry, Jr., 


1843-3 


Henry Tisdale, 


1797-1 


Jonathan Perry, 


1852 


James Tisdale, 


1822-1 


Lowell Perry, 


1834-2 


Aaron Whiting, 


1795-3 


John Plympton, 


1808 


Amos Wight, 


1 792-4 


George Post, 


1892-4 


Caleb Wight, 


1816 


Calvin Richards, 


1808-13 


Ephraim Wilson, 


1828-4 


Calvin Richards, 2d, 


1840-5 


Ephraim Wilson, 2d, 


1855-5 


Luther Richards, 


1833-3 


Henry Winchinbach, 


1876 



TOWN-CLERKS. 



Hezekiah Allen, 


1805 


Eben Higgins, 


1 890-6 


Ralph Battelle, 


1829-3 


John Jones, 


1785 


Ebenezer Battle, 


1792-2 


Ebenezer Newell, 


1788-3 


Jesse Draper, 


1803-17 


Calvin Richards, 


1822-2 


Samuel Fisher, 


1795-1 


Luther Richards, 


1833-3 


Noah A. Fiske, 


1825-24 


Abner L. Smith, 


1859-17 


Joseph Haven, 


1786-1 


Allen F. Smith, 


1889 


Noah Haven, 


1797-5 


Charles H. Smith, 


1877-11 



CIVIL HISTORY 



255 





TREASURERS. 




Hezekiah Allen, 


1786 


George D. Everett, 


1877-11 


Aaron Bacon, 


1868-8 


Joseph Haven, 


1785 


Ebenezer Battle, 


1788 


Eben Higgins, 


1889-7 


Jonathan Battle, 


1809-2 


Hiram W. Jones, 


1864-3 


Sherman Battle, 


1854-9 


Daniel Mann, 


1823-6 


George Chickering, 


1821-21 


Josiah Newell, 


1806-4 


Jesse Chickering, 


1800-5 


Lowell Perry, 


1835-1 


Nathaniel Chickering, 


1798-12 


Lewis Smith, 


1811-7 



SUPERINTENDENTS OF SCHOOLS. 



Rev. A. E. Battelle, 1868-70. 
H. Emily Chickering, 1875-76. 
Theodore Dunn, 1867. 
Martha A. Everett, 1877-84. 
Helen M. Jones, 1892. 



Edmund B. Otis, 1871-73. 
Rev. George Procter, 1865. 
Frank Smith, 1885-91, 1893- 

96. 
Joseph A. Smith, 1874. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

CIVIL HISTORY.— Coni/nued. 

Highways — First Road — Court Street — Medfield 
Road — Walpole Street — Labor on Highways — 
Breaking Roads in Winter — Training Days — 
Parks — Common — Springdale Park — Metropoli- 
tan Park System — Charles River Railroad — 
Charles River Branch Railroad — New England 
Railroad. 

" The road the human being travels, 
That on which blessing comes and goes, doth follow 
The river's course, the valley's playful windings, 
Curves round the corn-field and the hill of vines." 

The evolution of the highway ilkistrates the condition 
of a people. In the early time, when our population 
was homogeneous and each was neighbor to the other, 
when all traced their lineage to the early Puritan set- 
tlers, when it was the fashion to share one another's 
joys and sorrows, when there was the fullest co-operation 
among housewives in apple-bees and quilting-parties, 
when the men exchanged work in clearing fields and in 
breaking up lots, when in the hour of sickness or death 
the whole community shared in anxiety or sorrow, the 
roads were built that the people might have more easy 
intercourse with one another. 

With the change in population and surroundings, the 
use of the highway has changed. Now only the main 



CiriL HISTORY 



257 



thoroughfares are much used, and during the last half 
century more miles of roads have been discontinued than 
have been built. To the student of affairs this marks a 
change in the habits of the people. 

The roads at first were only bridle-paths and " wind- 
ing, as old roads will." 

The first road undoubtedly led from Dedham over 
Strawberry Hill, along the bank of the Charles River, to 
the Indian village at South Natick. It was over this 
road that Governor Endicott rode in the declining hours 
of a summer's day in 1658, in passing from the Indian 
settlement to the house of the Rev. Mr. Allen, of Ded- 
ham, where he passed the night. 

County Street, which extends but a short distance in 
Dover, is another very old road. George Washington 
passed over this street in 1775, on his journey from 
Virginia to Cambridge, Mass., to take command of the 
American army. 

A road was early extended across this territory from 
Medfield to the Indian settlement at Natick. Few if 
any houses were built on the road, and in later years it 
was wholly relocated. It extended much to the east 
of the present street leading from Medfield to South 
Natick. The chief roadway of the town extended east 
and west, passing through the center, thence around 
by Pegan Hill, then westward to Farm Bridge. Along 
this street were built the happy homes where the early 
settlers 

" Felled the ungracious oak, 
With hurried toil 
Dragged from the soil 
The thrice-snarled roots and stubborn rock." 



258 H J STORY OF J)OVER 

After separation from Dedham steps were taken to 
build new roads and permanently to improve the high- 
ways. The main thoroughfares of the town, however, 
were all built before this period. 

The grade of Springdale Avenue was somewhat 
improved by the lowering of Meeting-house Hill in 
1862. After the building of the railroad that part of 
Springdale Avenue east of the railroad was left in a bad 
condition. In 1861 the town instructed the selectmen 
to communicate with the railroad company and have the 
street put in " passable condition," but all efforts were 
unavailing. The county commissioners in 1872 took 
the matter in hand, and laid out a street from the rail- 
road to Center Street, which was built after their 
specifications. 

Walpole Street was built through several extensions. 
A part of this street was the first road made after the 
organization of the parish. It was built from the meet- 
ing-house to the farm of John Cheney, now owned by 
Thomas Coughlan. Later the road was extended to the 
Nathaniel Chickering homestead, and in 1789 was built 
through to the Hartford turnpike, and later extended on 
the petition of Billings Tisdale to County Street. Sev- 
eral new streets followed the introduction of manufact- 
uring in 1795. Mill Street was laid out and accepted 
April 3, 1797. An effort was made at this time to build 
Willow Street, but was not accomplished until five years 
later, although the street was laid out by the selectmen 
in 1797. 

The building of Mill Street caused much trouble and 
litigation, as Lieut. Lemuel Richards was not satisfied 
with the award made him for land damages. A new 



CIVIL HISTORY 



^59 



road was laid out in 1814 which united Mill and Willow 
Streets near Captain Newell's store, and extended to 
the center of Charles River. This was named the 
" New Mill Road." The mill company took the con- 
tract to build Mill and Willow Streets for three hundred 
and fifty dollars, which was appropriated by the district. 
The company built the roads without bridges over the 
sluiceways, which caused much trouble in later years. 

Farm Street was originally a part of the road leading 
from Medfield to South Natick. The location of the 
road was changed in 1792, commencing near the Med- 
field line. Wilsondale Street, over Strawberry Hill, was 
improved by Ephraim Wilson in 1799, the town having 
given him permission to " turn the road between his 
house and Mr. Jabez Baker's " and make it passable, free 
of cost to the district. Other changes were made in 
the road in 1850 and in 1862. 

The street extending through the Cheney estate was 
laid out in 1804, and some changes afterwards suggested 
by Mr. Jones were accepted by the town. In 1880 the 
street was discontinued at the request of Mr. Cheney, 
who agreed to maintain the road at his own expense. 

Smith Street was first laid out by the town in Feb- 
ruary, 1808, and discontinued the latter part of the same 
year. Benjamin Guy received one hundred and twenty 
dollars for damages, agreeing to give Mr. Plympton per- 
mission to pass through his land " by punctually putting 
up the bars." 

In 1 8 16 the selectmen again laid out the street, which 
led to much discussion ; but the matter was finally 
settled by the county commissioners, who laid out the 
road in 181 8. 



I 



26o HISTORY OF DOVER 

Center Street was completed and made a public way 
through several extensions. In 1812 the town accepted 
a road laid out from Jesse Newell's to the Medfield line, 
and in 1830 the two parts were united by building a 
link from Moses Draper's to Jesse Newell's. 

The road to the new mill was built in 18 16 and dis- 
continued in 1862. The road was built by the New 
Mill Company, and turned over to the town at an ex- 
pense of two hundred and fifty dollars, which was 
appropriated for the purpose. In 18 19 permission was 
given to the company by the town " to place a gate 
across the road," as it was not much used by the travel- 
ing public. 

Efforts were early made to build a road from Hollis- 
ton to Boston, passing through this town, but failed, 
although the matter was several times brought up in 
different ways. In 1840 a renewed effort was made to 
build the " Norfolk Turnpike " for the following reasons : 
" Dover has no direct road to Boston that is passable at 
all times of the year ; and the road is generally bad, very 
narrow, and not sufficiently wide for two carriages to 
pass. We think it is founded on fact that there is not 
a town in the county that has one quarter part of the 
tonnage transported to and from Boston annually which 
the town of Dover has according to its population." 

Many changes were proposed in the way of straight- 
ening parts of Farm Street, but without avail ; and the 
street remains to-day substantially as it was a century 
ago. 

Chapel Street, which was discontinued on the com- 
pletion of Springdale Park, was laid out in 1835 on 
condition that it should be built without expense to the 



CIVIL HISTORY 261 

town. It was accepted on petition of James H. Wight 
in 1844. 

Dover Street was built in 1852, and Church Street in 
1854. 

Pleasant Street was laid out on petition of Benja- 
min N. Sawin, and built in 1854. An effort was made 
in 1839 to build Glen Street, but failed. In 1855 the 
matter was taken up again and carried through. 

Powisset Street was discontinued in 1884 from Wal- 
pole Street to the house of Bernhardt Post, and extended 
south from that point to again meet Walpole Street. 

A new street, connecting Glen and Wight Streets, 
was built in 1895 ; and the part of the old street east of 
the intersecting point was discontinued. The new 
street was made a part of W'ight Street, and so named. 

In 1797 the district voted "to allow twelve and a 
half cents for each hour's labor for a man on the high- 
way and the same sum for a team." 

There was often much contention over streets that 
led only to the homes of individuals. In 1795 Josiah 
Bacon received liberty, by vote of the district, " to fence 
up the road leading to Esquire Jones's till rye harvest." 

Provision for roads was often made in the ancient 
grants, as in the case of Joseph Chickering, to whom a 
grant was made in 1750, containing a right of highway. 
This condition led to much litigation. The appropria- 
tion for highways was first made in Federal money in 
1 798, when the district granted five hundred dollars for 
their maintenance, the amount being two and a half 
times the sum appropriated for schools. 

A road-scraper was first purchased in 18 12. Later 
the town was divided into road-districts, and highway 



262 HISTORY OF DOVER 

surveyors were elected at the annual town-meeting to 
have charge of the roads. This office was often much 
sought after, as the surveyors had the privilege of work- 
ing out the non-residents' tax and such others as wished 
to pay their highway tax in money. The repairing of 
the roads, except the scraping and gathering of loose 
stones in the spring, was put off to a convenient time 
in the early summer, when the whole male population 
was called out to work on the roads. The district 
voted in 1 798 " that two thirds of the highway tax be 
worked out in June and the remainder in September." 

It was expected of the surveyor that he would at 
least keep the road near his own house in good condi- 
tion. 

Many parts of the highway received little or no atten- 
tion until in the revolution of the office a new resident 
was elected. 

Permission was sometimes given to individuals, by 
vote of the town, to work out their highway tax on 
some particular piece of road, as in 18 16: "Voted to 
grant Mr. Draper Smith liberty to work out his high- 
way tax in the lane leading from his house to the road 
for the ensuing year." 

Little grading was done ; and the work consisted 
largely of clearing out the gutters on either side and 
throwing the sod and worn-out material back into the 
road, which was called "rounding it up." 

As winter approached, to prevent the steep hills from 
washing in heavy storms, a series of barriers were made, 
which turned the water into the gutters, but made the 
roads very hard to ride upon. In winter after a snow- 
storm the men in each district turned out with their 



CIVIL HISTORY 263 

ox-teams, and under the direction of the surveyor broke 
out the roads, which were often piled high with snow. 

As they passed along, teams were frequently added ; 
and, wherever the train stopped, the cider-mug was 
brought forward and passed with their jokes from lip to 
lip. They made their way 

" O'er windy hill, through clogged ravine, 
And woodland paths that wound between 
Low drooping pine-boughs, winter-weighed." 

As a step in the direction of improving the highways, 
surveyors were appointed by the selectmen instead of 
being elected at the annual town-meeting. In this way 
it was possible to choose men of capacity for the work ; 
but the greatest improvement in the system came in 
the appointment of a superintendent of streets, who 
now has the full charge and direction of the highways. 

The superintendent has shown excellent judgment 
in trimming out the roadside growth and in 'leaving 
good specimens of various species of trees to grow, 
although they do not always stand in straight lines. 
Clumps of barberry, shadbush, black alder, and flower- 
ing dogwood, which are " conspicuously beautiful," 
should be left to grow, that the streets may be adorned 
with shrubs as well as trees and wild-flowers. The 
willows and alders are always true harbingers of spring. 

Oh, these old roads and fields, bounded, divided, and 
subdivided by the rude stone wall, how they stand as 

" Pathetic monuments of vanished men," 

who cleared their fields, and made their walls from the 
boulders dug from the soil ! Touching on stone walls, 



264 HISTORY OF DOVER 

Professor Bailey, of Brown, says : A new stone wall, to 
be sure, is a lovely object ; but then it is rarely seen. 
Nature claims the recent and the old as hers, and soon 
subdues with lichens the raw tints of the granite, and 
conceals all rectilinear outlines with her shrubbery and 
flowers. The wild plants and the bushes, which the 
operations of husbandry have driven from the fields, 
retreat with confidence within the shadow of the 
walls, assured there of protection and a home. Who 
could deliberately denude a wall of this its ornamental 
clothing .'' 

Truly, "stone walls do not a prison make" : to minds 
innocent and quiet they may, indeed, prove a hermitage. 
They are our American ruins, and we could ill spare 
them from the landscape. 

Standing on the hill north of the West school- 
house and looking towards the south, the eye takes in 
stretches of these stone walls, which would make mile 
upon mile in the aggregate. How truly the owners of 
these farms have entered into the labors of others ! 

The stone walls of New England are eminently appropriate 
and picturesque. The individual boulders which form them are 
fine exponents of the law of variety, both in form and color ; 
while many elements of beauty, of interest, of utility, and appro- 
priateness dwell within them. 

The conditions of prosperity have changed in a half 
century : manufacturing has ceased, profitable farming 
has declined, and many expedients are now resorted to 
to round out farm life. The future prosperity of the 
town depends upon the development of natural advan- 
tages in view of our close proximity to city life. Sons 



CIVIL HISTORY 265 

of Dover engaged in business must be called back to 
live upon these hills. Strangers should be drawn here 
to establish homes amid this wealth of natural beauty. 
In the maintenance of roads the aesthetic side must be 
considered as well as the economic. 

For thirty years strangers have been daily passing 
through this town on railway trains without ever stop- 
ping to view its extended beauty. With the advent of 
the bicycle all has changed, and hundreds of persons 
from the city and surrounding towns are becoming 
better acquainted with this region than many of the 
residents themselves. 

They find a charm upon the placid Charles, or as 
they wheel along our winding streets amid the beauty 
of forest trees and cultivated fields. The landscape, 
with magnificent sky effects, presents a picture of great 
beauty, whether seen from hill or dale, of which the 
true lover of nature never tires. As a means of draw- 
ing desirable residents to the town no better invest- 
ment can be made than the systematic development of 
picturesque beauty in the roads and in the landscape. 

Let us be thankful that our lines are cast in the 
country amid scenes of which we never tire, and sur- 
rounded by beauties fresh with each changing and suc- 
ceeding season. Let us make our town so attractive 
that when friendships fade, and books grow dull, and 
the theatres and the opera lose their charm, we may 
attract men and women to the country, to be interested, 
instructed, and elevated through the great open page of 
nature. 

The frontispiece shows one of the arched stone 
bridges jointly owned by Dover and Needham. The 



2 66 HISTORY OF DOVER 

building of stone bridges cannot be too strongly urged. 
Iron rusts, wood decays ; but a well-built stone bridge 
will last for centuries, and is maintained at a minimum 
of expense. Newell's Bridge was built at a trifling cost 
to the two towns, and has proved to be very economical, 
demanding few repairs, and these easily made. 

On this subject W. H. Downs says: "There are no 
structures made by human hands which more perfectly 
harmonize with natural scenery than rightly designed 
and properly constructed stone bridges. A stone bridge 
with rounded arches is almost inevitably the best type 
of union between utility and beauty. No other sort of 
bridges can ever take it« place." It is to be hoped that 
the time will speedily come when our three wooden 
bridges spanning the Charles will give place to stone 
bridges which shall be conspicuous illustrations of the 
beauty of simplicity. 

Dover came into early possession of a park, which 
was called "the common." 

In 1793 Henry Tisdale and his wife deeded to the 
district of Dover, for fifteen pounds, nine-tenths of a 
tract of land containing three acres, on the expressed 
condition that it was to be held " for the common use 
and benefit of the inhabitants of Dover forever." This 
was a commanding and beautiful piece of land before 
the construction of the railroad, which made a deep cut, 
dividing it from the grounds of the two religious socie- 
ties. The common remained in a rough and unsightly 
condition for many years, and was allowed to grow up 
to wood and underbrush. It was finally sloped off 
towards the railroad and partially enclosed with a fence, 
but remained unkempt for many years. 



CIVIL HISTORY 267 

The remaining one-tenth of the Tisdale tract was set 
off in a square at the southeast corner, which w^as later 
owned by several individuals. In 1872 the town pur- 
chased the square and removed the dwellings there- 
from. 

In 1 89 1 the town made a liberal appropriation for 
beautifying this park. The money was expended under 
the direction of the selectmen. The grounds were 
surveyed, carefully graded, and several winding paths 
made, which add much to the beauty of the grounds. 
Sidewalks were constructed, and through the observ- 
ance of Arbor Day the park has been surrounded with 
a row of shade trees. 

The dangerous and unsightly land at the junction 
of Pleasant Street and Springdale Avenue, which was 
largely occupied with cellar holes, was taken by the 
town in 1893 under the right of eminent domain, and 
converted into a park. The spot was carefully graded, 
and, although small in area, is capable of being devel- 
oped into a beautiful little park. 

It is to be hoped that the time will come when we 
shall apply a little touch of art to this park, and utilize 
the right to draw water from the never-failing springs 
on Pegan Hill in a drinking-fountain for man and beast, 
and a playing-fountain, the sight of which shall gladden 
the heart of man. The people of an older civilization 
would not have neglected such an opportunity ; for they 
oftener considered that "a thing of beauty is a joy 
forever," refining and ennobling the mind. " There 
seems," says a modern writer, "to be an impression that 
art is for the favorite few ; that it is in no practicable 
way applicable to the business of a hard-working farmer, 



2 68 HISTORY OF DOVER 

and is not convertible into such." Let us have a little 
artistic ardor and make this spot as beautiful and 
picturesque as possible. 

Dover is included in the Metropolitan Park System, 
which was established with a board of commissioners 
by the General Court in 1893. Within this metro- 
politan district lie thirty-seven separate and independent 
municipalities, comprising twelve cities and twenty-five 
towns, with a population of a million people and taxed 
property amounting to one thousand millions of dollars. 

Within two years a great work has been accomplished 
by the commissioners in different parts of the territory 
in setting apart open spaces, such as the Blue Hill 
Reservation, five miles in length, the Stony Brook 
Reservation, and the Middlesex Fells Reservation, 
together with numerous park -ways. This has been 
accomplished by an expenditure of two million three 
hundred thousand dollars, which is met by the issue of 
bonds running forty years and bearing interest at three 
and one half per cent. The total sum to be collected 
from the district annually is one hundred and eleven 
thousand two hundred and fifty-three dollars and ninety- 
nine cents, through a quinquennial apportionment, which 
at present requires Boston to pay fifty per cent, of 
the annual requirement, or fifty-five thousand six hun- 
dred and twenty-seven dollars, while Dover pays four 
one-thousandths of one per cent., or forty-eight dollars 
and ninety-two cents. The expenses of this park 
system may be at any time increased, as the law pro- 
vides for the annual collection from the co-operating 
cities and towns the cost of maintaining the several 
reservations, — the sum to be assessed in accordance 
with quinquennial apportionment. 



CIVIL HISTORY 269 

In the early time every able-bodied male citizen 
between the ages of sixteen and sixty years was 
obliged to belong to the militia ; and four times a year 
they were called out in military movements, the use of 
arms, shooting at marks, and other military exercises. 
Sometimes the militia went out of town, frequently to 
Walpole ; and on such occasions they were paid for 
their day's service. The balls and cartridges were 
home-made, and residents were frequently paid for 
manufacturing them. In 18 14 the district paid "Ralph 
Battle one dollar for making cartridges and finding 
paper for the same." Then training-days were holidays 
to the old men, women, and children. In the evolution 
of outdoor games we may turn to the "general training- 
day," when the rustic life of the young people was first 
enlivened by athletic sports. 

The ammunition used by the militia company was 
stored in the powder-house. This building stood until 
1852, when it was sold at public auction to Calvin 
Richards for five dollars and fifty cents. The militia 
company often met for training on the common in 
front of the Williams Tavern, and at such times the 
center of the town presented a very animated scene. 

Several surveys were made for railroads through 
Dover as early as 1830. One of the first was a survey 
from Woonsocket, R.I., to meet the branch road which 
had already been built from Dedham to Boston. This 
survey went far south of the center of the town. The 
most feasible route was called the " Air Line," which 
was proposed to run from Boston to New York. 

As the survey passed through the center of the town, 
the residents became much interested in the project. 



270 HISTORY OF DOVER 

and contributed largely of their time and means to gain 
railroad facilities. As the proposed road was to be 
a through line, it received much opposition from the 
existing railroad companies. 

To aid in getting a charter for this road, the town in 
1837 elected the Rev. Dr. Sanger as a representative to 
the General Court. There was a strenuous effort made 
in Norfolk County about this time to gain railroad 
facilities, and many different petitions were presented 
to the General Court. Those on the west side of the 
county worked for what was called the " Pettee " route, 
from Brookline to Woonsocket, while others petitioned 
for the " Norfolk County " route, from Dedham through 
Walpole and Franklin to Blackstone. The latter route 
received the endorsement of the legislature. 

Otis Pettee, of Newton, Edgar K. Whitaker, of Need- 
ham, and Elijah Perry, of Dover, were granted a charter 
in 1849 for the construction of the Charles River Branch 
Railroad "from some convenient point on the Boston 
& Worcester Railroad, near Angers Corner in Newton, 
or from a point on the Brookline branch through New- 
ton, East Needham, to a convenient point in Dover." 
The granting of this charter was hailed by the residents 
of Dover with great delight. A celebration was held 
on Miller's Hill, which came to a sad ending, as George 
Bliss was instantly killed by the bursting of a cannon 
which he was firing. The Charles River Branch Rail- 
road was first open as far as Newton Upper Falls and 
later to Needham. It was operated by the Boston & 
Worcester Company, and connected with the Brookline 
Branch Railroad. 

In 185 I Luther Metcalf, of Medway, Jonathan Bishop, 



CIVIL HISTORY 271 

of Medfield, and Noah J. Arnold, of Bellingham, were 
granted a charter for the Charles River Railroad to be 
built "from a convenient point at or near the terminal 
of the Charles River Branch Railroad in Dover, passing 
through Medfield, Medway, and North Franklin to a 
convenient point in the town of Bellingham." 

The town voted, August 4, 1853, to give the Charles 
River Branch Railroad and the Charles River Railroad 
Companies permission to take earth from the common 
land belonging to the town, under the direction of the 
selectmen and Capt. Timothy Allen and James Chicker- 
ing. Isaac Howe gave the land for the station, and 
residents took twenty thousand dollars worth of the 
corporation's stock. After many extensions of time and 
much difficulty the road in August, 1861, was opened 
as far as Medfield, and later extended to Woonsocket. 
The town decided to co-operate with individuals and 
the railroad company in grading for a station. In 1862 
it was voted to lower Meeting-house Hill and to assist in 
grading for a station, " provided eighty dollars is raised 
by private subscription and one hundred and seventy 
dollars is expended by the railroad company." The ap- 
proaches to the station and the grounds should be still 
further enlarged and graded. 

The New York & Boston Railroad was incorpoi'ated 
by the legislature of Connecticut in 1846, "to build a 
railroad from New Haven to Middletown and then 
easterly to the east line of the State towards the city of 
Boston." In 1854 the Woonsocket Union Railroad was 
united with the New York & Boston Railroad. In 
1855 the General Court united the Charles River 
Branch Railroad and the Charles River Railroad with 



272 HISTORY OF DOVER 

the New York & Boston Railroad, under the latter 
name. Ten years later this road, by vote of the stock- 
holders, was merged with the Boston, Hartford & Erie 
Railroad, the old Norfolk County. Much was ex- 
pected from this union, but it utterly failed to produce 
any benefits ; and the railroad for which so great sacri- 
fices had been made became a branch of the main line, 
from which the business as far as possible was diverted. 
After the failure of the Boston, Hartford & Erie Rail- 
road it was reorganized as the New York & New 
England ; and this branch became a part of the Central 
Division of that system. 

In the reorganization of the road in 1895 it was 
called the " New England Railroad " ; and a few months 
later a controlling interest was purchased by the New 
York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad. It is now 
under the management of that great system. 

At first there were only a morning and an evening 
train ; but through the years the service has been in- 
creased to six daily trains in either direction, with two 
trains on Sunday. 



CHAPTER XX. 

SOCIETIES AND ORGANIZATIONS. 

Temperance Reform — Drinking Custom at Funerals 
AND Ordinations — Cider-mills — Norfolk County 
Temperance Union — Band of Hope — Sons of Tem- 
perance SCHOOLHOUSE MEETINGS — DoVER TEM- 
PERANCE Union — Organization of the Grange — 
Needham Farmers' and Mechanics' Association — 
Debating Society — Historical Society — Centen- 
nial Celebration. 

I break your bonds and masterships, 

And I unchain the s]ave : 
Free be his heart and hand henceforth 

As wind and wandering wave. 

— Emerson. 

The early settlers were constantly on the road with 
their ox-teams. The round trip to Boston occupied 
two days. Leaving home in the forenoon, they reached 
Boston the same evening, where they "put up" at a 
tavern over night. The teamster found a sleeping- 
room in the large hall of the tavern, with beds 
arranged on either side, where/sometimes fifty tired 
men turned in for the night. That was in the day of 
vigorous health and strong nerves, and the loud snoring 
did not seriously disturb or keep awake the weary men. 
By four o'clock in the morning, even in the coldest 
winter weather, they turned out and fed their teams. 
They usually breakfasted on a cold lunch, although 
facilities were offered for cooking a steak. After dis- 



2 74 HISTORY OF DOVER 

posing of their wood, charcoal, or ship-timber, and 
having made such purchases for the households as 
their frugal habits demanded, they faced homeward, 
where they usually arrived in the early hours of the 
evening. 

The food for the round trip was put up at home, and 
consisted of Indian bread, meat, and rye gingerbread, 
which in the making was often mixed with cider. As 
so much of their food was eaten cold on the road, it 
is not surprising that large quantities of New England 
rum were consumed. In almost every cellar there was 
a set of casks, holding two, four, and eight quarts, which 
were frequently replenished with rum. In the fall many 
barrels of cider were rolled into the cellar. The cider 
was usually made from russet apples, which were grown 
in large quantities in the vicinity. In winter much 
of the cider was frozen in the cask, and that which 
remained unfrozen was of a superior flavor, strength, 
and color. Every grocery store retailed "new rum," 
as it was called ; and stores of this class were more 
numerous than at present. 

It was customary to furnish liquor on all occasions, — 
ordinations, dedication of meeting-houses, funerals, and 
even when the minister made social calls. The parish- 
meetings were frequently adjourned for a half hour to 
" Newell's Inn," and in 1819 John Williams was paid 
one dollar and fifteen cents " for drinks furnished the 
men while repairing the meeting-house." As late as 
1823 the town paid for two quarts of brandy and two 
quarts of West India rum furnished at the funeral of 
a pauper. These were the conditions amid which the 
people lived and reared their families. 









Wf^. 




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ii. 



SOCIETIES AND ORGANIZATIONS 275 

Apple orchards flourished from the first settlement 
of the town. Some of the trees standing to-day show 
the mammoth growth which in the early time the apple- 
tree attained. Apples were grown not alone for fruit, 
but more especially for cider purposes. 

Cider-presses sprang up in different parts of the 
town ; and the old horse going round at the end of a 
beam, which turned the cogged wheels connected with 
the hopper where the apples were ground, is still re- 
called. The apple cheese, bound in straw, was placed 
on the press under great wooden screws, which made 
the cider flow. 

This supply of cider, however harmless before fer- 
mentation, soon became hard and sour and capable of 
producing intoxication. The reform in the habit of 
drinking hard cider has gone on until it is now a rare 
thing for a farmer to put cider into his cellar for drink- 
ing purposes. This fact shows the progress of the tem- 
perance reform, as the people have almost wholly given 
up their native drink, which in intoxication made them 
cross and quarrelsome. 

It was the custom for employers to furnish liquors to 
their employees. Hiram Jones, after listening to a 
lecture by John B. Gough, resolved to break the cus- 
tom. He was raising the barn now owned by Irving 
Colburn. All went well until the ridge-pole was 
wanted, when it was discovered that it had disappeared. 
Mr. Jones was informed after much search that it would 
be forthcoming if the men were supplied with their 
usual quantity of grog. Mr. Jones stood firm, and on 
that day and occasion settled forever the liquor question 
with his men. 



276 HISTORY OF DOVER 

When the temperance reform began in 1840 many 
were already total abstainers. By this time the preach- 
ing of the clergy was wholly on the side of temperance. 
Frequent lectures and public meetings were held, and 
in time the town became a part of a district organiza- 
tion known as the Norfolk County Temperance Union. 
Later the work took shape in local temperance organiza- 
tions. 

A Band of Hope was organized in 1859 by the Rev. 
Edward Barker, which held frequent meetings and en- 
listed the interest of the young in the temperance 
work. The Band held public meetings and entertain- 
ments, which were largely attended and created much 
enthusiasm for the cause. The membership was made 
up largely of children. Meetings were held in the Cen- 
ter schoolhouse, and the work was juvenile in character. 
The youths of the town found a popular organization in 
the " Sons of Temperance," which had for its purpose 
"the shielding of one another from the evils of intem- 
perance, offering assistance in case of sickness, and 
elevating the character of its members." This organi- 
zation furnished not only social intercourse, but at- 
tempted to study the temperance question. Much orig- 
inal work was done in preparing papers and essays on 
the subject. In 1869 a lodge of "Good Templars" 
was organized, which included both old and young. 
Regular meetings were held in the Baptist chapel, and 
for a time the organization created much enthusiasm ; 
but after a few years their charter was surrendered. 

Schoolhouse meetings were begun about 1870, in 
which the school children were largely represented. 
The Dover Temperance Union was organized October 



SOCIETIES AND ORGANIZATIONS 277 

4, 1872, through the labors of the Rev. Thomas S. 
Norton. The object of the association, as defined, '<is 
to promote the cause of temperance not only by pledg- 
ing ourselves to total abstinence, but by our individual 
and united efforts, by discussion, lectures, and in all 
suitable ways, to educate the people in the principles of 
temperance, to reclaim the intemperate and prevent the 
young from forming habits of dissipation." The follow- 
ing simple pledge was adopted : " I hereby solemnly 
pledge myself to abstain from the. use of all intoxicat- 
ing liquors as a beverage." Since its organization 
three hundred and thirty-eight persons have taken this 
pledge. It is still an active organization, and is made 
up largely of the church attendants. Meetings are held 
monthly in the town hall, with an appropriate pro- 
gramme, including a public discussion of the subject of 
temperance. All political parties, as well as churches, 
are represented in its membership. 

The Dover Grange, Patrons of Husbandry, No. 117, 
was organized March 13, 1884, with thirty-seven charter 
members. It has always flourished, and has at present 
a numerous membership. Residents of several adjoin- 
ing towns have become members of this organization, 
which holds, except in summer, semi-monthly meetings. 
The work of the grange here is largely social and in- 
tellectual. It has developed much dramatic ability 
among its members, and the entertainments of the 
grange are numerously attended by the residents of 
this and surrounding towns. The Dover Grange has 
from the start interested itself in all questions of town 
improvements. In 1889 it observed Arbor Day, being 
the first organization in town to take up tree-planting. 



278 HISTORY OF DOVER 

It has frequent meetings with other granges in Norfolk 
and Middlesex Counties, and in 1891 united with others 
in organizing a Pomona Grange. 

The Needham Farmers' and Mechanics' Association, 
which was organized some years ago to promote the 
interests of both farmers and mechanics by the discus- 
sion of subjects pertaining to their welfare, has always 
had a large membership in this town. Meetings are 
usually held at the residence of the members, and both 
men and women have a share in the literary work. 

A debating society was formed in 1853 ; and, as the 
North schoolhouse was near the center of population, 
the young men gained permission to use this school- 
house for debating purposes. The debating society as 
an institution did much for the young men of a past 
generation in cultivating patriotism and awakening a 
love of country. 

The Dover Historical and Natural History Society 
was organized in the spring of 1895 for the purpose of 
collecting and preserving "such relics and antiquities, 
such facts and documents, as will throw light upon our 
local history, either by gift or loan, and also to promote 
a knowledge of natural history, by the formation of a 
museum, and in any way advance the aims of the 
society by such means as are at our command." 

All members are elected by ballot ; and, in accord- 
ance with the constitution, " the laws and customs of 
our forefathers are observed by taking the question 
with Indian corn and beans, the corn expressing yeas, 
and the beans nays." 

A small appropriation was made by the town to 
advance the interests of the society ; and a fine cabinet 



SOCIETIES AND ORGANIZATIONS 279 

has been purchased for the preservation of relics, which 
by courtesy of the trustees has been placed in the town 
library. 

Small relics of interest and value are being constantly 
added to the collection. The meetings of the society 
are held quarterly, beginning with the first Saturday 
in January. liach man pays the sum of fifty cents, 
and each woman twenty-five cents in annual dues. 

The one hundredth anniversary of the Declaration 
of American Independence was fittingly observed by 
the town, which has not forgotten that on the very day 
of the nation's birth Capt. John Jones, a native of 
the Springfield Parish, gave his life to the republic at 
Crown Point, N.Y. Many residents, as late as 1876, 
traced their lineage to ancestors who were living here 
in the first years of the nation's life. 

An interesting program was carried out by a com- 
mittee appointed at a public meeting. A flag was 
raised in the morning with appropriate exercises on 
the common. A procession was formed, with a large 
representation of "Horribles." Public exercises were 
held in the First Parish Church, including an historical 
address by P'rank Smith. The interest in historical 
matters awakened by the preparation of the address 
led to extended research on the part of the author, 
which culminated in the writing of this work. The 
celebration closed with a fine display of fireworks in the 
evening. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

MANUFACTURING AND INDUSTRIES. 

Mills — Whip Factory — Straw Business — Brush Fac- 
tory — Shoe Business — Ploughs — Hoops — Paper — 
Cigars — Charcoal — Blacksmiths ^ — -Wheelwright — 
Milk Business — Stores — Inventions — Authorship 
— Agriculture. 

Haply from them the toiler, bent 
Above his forge or plough, may gain 
A manlier spirit of content. 
And feel that life is wisest spent 
When the strong working hand makes strong the working brain. 

— Whittier. 

The industries of the town carry us back to the very- 
beginning of the nation, when the inhabitants added to 
the cultivation of the soil the cutting of timber. Ship- 
building was the first industry established in colonial 
days, and was the beginning in the industrial evolution 
of the United States. With the few attempts at other 
industries enumerated in this chapter, the inhabitants 
have been content to utilize the natural resources of 
the soil. The farmers were all engaged in textile in- 
dustries to the extent of spinning and weaving their 
own woollen and linen clothes. 

When in 1638 Abraham Shawe commenced to build 
a grist-mill on Charles River, it is believed that the loca- 
tion of this mill was within the present limits of Dover. 
Mr. Shawe died within a short time, and the enterprise 
was not carried out. The first mill in Dover was lo- 



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MANUFACTURING AND INDUSTRIES 281 

cated on Charles River, which at first took the name 
of "Dover Mills," but later was called Charles River 
Village. Saw- and grist-mills were located here previous 
to the year 1800. A slitting-mill was built in 1795 on 
the Dover side of Charles River ; and the water-privilege 
later developed led to the establishment of a flourishing 
nail factory and iron-rolling business, which was owned 
by Josiah Newell. In 1837 the nail factory employed 
fourteen hands, and manufactured three hundred tons 
of nails annually, valued at thirty-six thousand dollars. 
The rolling-mill turned out five hundred tons of hoops, 
rods, etc., valued at fifty-five thousand dollars. The 
Dover Union Iron Company, consisting of the following 
members, was organized in 18 15 : Nathaniel Chickering, 
Frederick Barden, John Williams, George Fisher, Silas 
Bacon, Jr., and Horace Bacon, of Dover ; Joseph Clark, Jr., 
Daniel Adams, Daniel Chickering, of Medfield ; James 
Carton, John H. Rice, Samuel Fisher, Jr., Timothy 
Allen, of Boston ; Benjamin Knight, of Newton. 

The company built the " New Mill " at the falls near 
Powisset for the rolling and slitting of Norway iron. 
The mill was constructed on the plan of having one 
over-shot bucket-wheel, thirty-six feet in diameter, 
which increased the speed of the rollers fourfold, and 
consumed less water than the under-shot wheels previ- 
ously used. The supply of water, however, proved 
inadequate ; and after a few years the company became 
insolvent, and the mill went to ruin. 

The establishment of the rolling and slitting iron 
business, previous to 1800, occupies an early place m 
the development of the industry in this country. Roll- 
ing and slitting mills were not begun until the last part 



282 HISTORY OF DOVER 

of the eighteenth century. Parliament passed laws for 
aiding the establishment of such enterprises only a short 
time previous to the Revolution. 

A half century ago Josiah Battelle was engaged in 
the manufacture of whips. He employed several hands, 
and made an article of high grade, which found a ready 
sale in Boston and Providence. 

With the introduction of the straw business in this 
country, Josiah Newell, Jr., put out large quantities of 
palm-leaf into the homes of the people, which was 
braided by the women and girls into hats. . The 
making of straw-braid was for many years quite an 
industry, the whole process being carried on in the 
household. The best quality of rye-straw was cut into 
pieces about a foot long, which, being put up in small 
bundles, was bleached by means of burning brimstone 
in an air-tight box. The straw was then split with a 
knife ; and, after having been moistened, so that it would 
not break, it was cut into strands by means of a little 
hand instrument. 

The fineness or coarseness of the braid depended 
upon the width of the strand. This straw-braid found 
a ready sale at dry-goods stores, and was even taken in 
exchange for other articles. Later large quantities of 
imported straw-braid was taken into families from the 
straw works at Medfield and other places, and sewed 
into hats and bonnets. This work was largely furnished 
in the winter and spring. 

The weaving of palm-leaf was also taken up for a 
time. This kind of work continued until after the 
close of the war in 1865. In later years the knitting 
of hosiery has been taken up in some families. 



N . " -r 




WATER-FALL AT OLD MILL. 



MANUFACTURING AND INDUSTRIES 283 

Thomas Smith, who settled in Dover in 1825, built a 
shop on County Street and commenced the manufacture 
of brushes, which he continued for many years. In the 
retail trade he supplied the surrounding country, and at 
wholesale found a ready sale for his brushes in the two 
leading markets of the day, Boston and Providence. 
Soon after the establishment of the boot and shoe in- 
dustry in this vicinity, James H. Wight built a shop 
which was used for a time in the manufacture of shoes. 
The business, however, was not adapted to the locality 
and was soon given up. For many years the already 
prepared stock was taken home by residents and manu- 
factured into boots and shoes. This work furnished 
profitable employment to not a small number of hands. 

Calvin Bigelow, who was a blacksmith by trade, began 
about 1830 the manufacture of wooden ploughs. He 
soon gave up the wooden plough, and began to make a 
superior hand-made wrought iron plough. He con- 
tinued this business for years, making from two hun- 
dred to three hundred ploughs per annum, until the 
introduction of cast iron ploughs, which greatly reduced 
the cost of manufacture and cut off the demand for 
hand-made ploughs. He then engaged in the manu- 
facture of axes. 

The manufacture of oak and walnut hoops was a 
leading and profitable industry in which many farmers 
engaged in the winter season. Josiah Whiting was the 
largest manufacturer. The hoops were manufactured 
from small trees, and being put up in bundles were 
shipped to Cuba and other sugar and molasses produc- 
ing islands. This industry died out in the years imme- 
diately following the close of the Civil War. 



284 HISTORY OF DOVER 

In 1868 Henry Goulding purchased land and the 
right of flowage ; and, damming the stream which enters 
Charles River near Farm Bridge, he built a shingle- 
mill, which for a number of years did a good winter 
business. But the timber being poorly adapted to the 
manufacture of shingles, the business gradually fell off, 
and some years later the mill was removed. In 1877 
Mr. Goulding put in a small grist-mill. 

The useful art of tanning was fostered by the laws of 
the Province, and a tannery was early set up on Trout 
Brook. A nail factory near the house of Theodore 
Dunn made wrought iron nails by hand. 

After the decline of the iron industry at Charles 
River Village, Messrs. Hill & Sons built mills and 
began the manufacture of sheathing-paper. The mills 
were run night and day and employed quite a number 
of hands. A few years since, the mills were burned 
and have not been replaced. 

Linus Bliss carried on for many years the manufact- 
ure of cigars, doing a large business. He kept a team 
on the road which supplied a large retail trade ; he also 
wholesaled in the Boston market. The business practi- 
cally ceased with his death, although his son George 
was engaged in the business for some time. 

The making of charcoal in the early time was a lead- 
ing industry. The corded wood cut in winter was 
burned into charcoal in the early fall ; and witchers 
were built in the clearing which were occupied while 
the charcoal was making. Those in attendance did not 
want for company, as it was the delight of the boys 
of the neighborhood to spend a night or two in the 
witcher, the pleasure being akin to that of camping-out, 



MANUFACTURING AND INDUSTRIES 285 

which has since become so popular. The young men 
were so trained to this industry that, in after years, in 
selecting farms for themselves, in this or other places, 
they often looked more to the amount of wood or tim- 
ber than to the location of the farm. The charcoal 
was sold in Boston, and required much teaming. Jesse 
Newell, John A. Newell, and Josiah Whiting were for 
many years engaged in this business ; but the trade is 
now left entirely to Mr. Whiting. 

John Battle gave a small piece of land early in 1700, 
at the junction of Main Street and Springdale Avenue, 
for a blacksmith's shop, which was occupied for nearly 
a century and a half. Another shop was located at the 
center of the precinct near Trout Brook, and doubtless 
united with the manufacture of wrought iron nails the 
shoeing of horses, oxen, and a general blacksmith 
business. 

Obed Hartshorn, who settled in the extreme westerly 
part of the town in 1790, opened a blacksmith's shop 
which was maintained for many years, and descended to 
his son Obed. 

It is related, that during the War of 181 2, a drove of 
cows that were being driven through the State in winter 
could go no further on account of the ice. Mr. Harts- 
horn tried the experiment of shoeing the cows, putting 
one sharpened shoe on each hoof, and the experiment 
worked so well that the happy drover was enabled to 
proceed on his way. 

Capt. Silas Bacon had a blacksmith shop on Main 
Street, previous to the opening of the business by Calvin 
Bigelow. About 1830, Mr. Bigelow began, on the spot 
since converted into Springdale Park, the blacksmith 



2 86 HISTORY OF DOVER 

business, and for many years carried on the " village 
smithy " in connection with the manufacture of ploughs 
and axes. After Mr. Bigelow closed his shop and 
moved away, Hiram Jones and William Cleveland built 
the shop now owned by William King, which had for a 
time many different occupants. The shop was finally 
taken by a Mr. Rodman. Other shops in later years 
were built in this locality by Henry Orcutt and William 
King, which were maintained for some years. 

Calvin Richards, Sr., had a shop on Strawberry Hill 
where he did at least his own work. 

In the southerly part of the town, Dea. Daniel Chick- 
ering had a shop and looked after the blacksmithing. 

After moving to the easterly part of the town, Calvin 
Bigelow built another shop which he used for some 
time. 

A blacksmith business was conducted at Charles 
River Village on the Dover side of the river. The first 
shop was run by Seth Blake, and was located between 
the mill and the house of Charles Marden. Mr. Blake 
was succeeded by John Adams. The last shop was 
built about 1870, and the business was continued for 
twenty years. 

In 1890, after the lapse of many years, the business 
was again set up at the center of the town by John 
Breagy, who built a shop and house on Walpole Street. 

The character of the business has greatly changed, 
and is now almost wholly devoted to horse-shoeing. In 
the early time the business consisted largely of ox- 
shoeing and united the work of the carriage-smith. 

Ebenezer Smith, about 1 800, began the wheelwright 
business. He built a shop on the little stream which 



MANUFACTURING AND INDUSTRIES 287 

crosses Farm Street, near the junction of Springdale 
Avenue. After some years he closed the business to 
take up a larger one in Connecticut. Rufus Battelle, 
who carried on the business for many years, was his 
successor. Mr. Battelle was a fine workman, and 
brought his son George up in the same trade. 

At the center of the town John Reed carried on a 
butcher's business previous to 1783. It was discontin- 
ued after that date, as his farm was purchased by the 
town of Dedham. 

In the westerly part of the town Jonathan Battelle 
did a good business, and in the wholesale trade engaged 
in the packing of beef and pork, which at one time 
was quite an industry, and an inspector of beef and 
pork was appointed by the town. Mr. Battelle had. a 
restaurant in Roxbury in connection with his business. 
He was succeeded in the slaughtering business by 
Oliver Clifford, who after a few years moved to 
Med way. 

Joseph A. Smith put carts on the road, and for some 
years had a large trade in this and surrounding towns. 
He carried on the business in connection with his 
father's farm on Smith Street. 

About 1875 Amos W. Shumway, Jr., engaged in the 
business at the old homestead, and developed a large 
trade in Dover and Medfield. After a few years the 
route was sold to Edward Newell, and the business 
went to Medfield. At present the trade is wholly sup- 
plied by butchers' carts from out of town. 

Hiram Jones, in taking up his residence here, en- 
gaged in carpentry, and contracted not only in town 
but also in the surrounding country. He was the builder 



2 88 HISTORY OF DOVER 

of one of the churches of the Natick Congregational 
Society. James H. Wight was a contractor, and had 
at one time a lumber-yard on the common. He moved 
from Dover, but continued the business in other places. 
The Howe Brothers, Alonzo, Albion, and William A., 
were all carpenters. Albion Howe carried on the busi- 
ness in Dover, but finally moved to Wellesley. 

Barnabas Paine has been for many 3^ears the leading 
builder. He has devoted his entire time to the busi- 
ness, and in the last twenty years has constructed many 
buildings in this and surrounding towns. 

Charles H. Chickering was engaged in the business 
at the time of his death (1891), and gave his entire 
time to contracts at Newton Highlands. 

Calvin and Warren Sawin were carpenters, and took 
contracts for buildings as well as general work in Dover 
and South Natick. Warren Richardson is a carpenter 
of large experience. 

The business is also carried on by Eben Higgins in 
connection with his farm. Daniel Mann was one of the 
first to engage in carpentry in Dover. He did a good 
business, having a large number of men in his employ. 
Being located in the easterly part of the town, Mr. 
Mann did much work in Needham and Dedham. 

The raising of silkworms for their cocoons was at one 
time undertaken, but failed to become an industry. 
White mulberry trees were planted, on the leaves of 
which the silkworms feed. 

In the early sixties William Bigelow built a shop at 
Bliss's corner, and engaged in the manufacture of boots. 
He was succeeded in the business by the firm of Derby 
& Nichols. 



MANUFACTURING AND INDUSTRIES 289 

The shoe business was carried on in the early time at 
the center of the town. A shop was located on the 
common in front of the cemetery. Later, the building 
was converted into a dwelling-house. Rufus Smith, 
and afterwards Z. & H. Moore, made shoes at the old 
tavern stand. 

For some years the boot and shoe industry was car- 
ried on by numerous residents in their homes, or in 
small shops, where the prepared stock taken from the 
manufacturer was put together. 

Carroll D. Wright thus speaks of this industry : — 

Perhaps the most striking illustration of the influence of inven- 
tions is to be found in the manufacture of boots and shoes. This 
industry was formerly carried on in little shops, in which a few 
men, rarely more than four, worked upon the bench, upon stock re- 
ceived from the manufacturer cut out and ready to be put together. 
These little shops are closed ; the great shoe factory has taken 
their place, and in it is to be seen the perfect adaptation of the 
manufacture of goods by successive, harmonious processes. 

Calvin Richards built a small factory on Noanet's 
Brook, where he manufactured nail-kegs, which he sold 
at Dover Mills and Newton Upper Falls. Later, Lewis 
Smith and William M. Richards used this building for 
the manufacture of shoe-filling. The latter occupation 
was carried on very profitably by William A. Howe, on 
Main Street. 

Capt. Samuel Fisher had a saw-mill which was located 
on the old Powisset road, and for many years did a good 
business in sawing native timber. This mill was in 
operation as early as 1780. 

In 1868 Arthur F. Dodge built a factory on Straw- 
berry Hill, and engaged in the manufacture of parlor 
organs, but after a time the business was discontinued. 



290 HISTORY OF DOVER 

Otto Gunther began here some twenty years ago the 
manufacture of confectionery, but soon returned to Bos- 
ton, as the locality was not adapted to the business. 

Through the attention now given to the raising of 
poultry and the extensive use of incubators and brooders, 
Ernest F. Hodgson has developed quite an industry in 
the manufacture of the " Peep o' Day Brooder " and 
"Peep o' Day Incubator," which are ordered from all 
parts of the United States and Canada. 

The custom of sending to market various products of- 
the farm, — such as vegetables, small fruits, butter, eggs, 
poultry, and veal, — furnished an opportunity which was 
not lost in establishing a commission business. Reuben 
Draper took up the business on Pegan Hill, and was 
succeeded in that locality by Sumner Allen ; Jonathan 
Battelle engaged early in the business and was followed 
in the westerly part of the town by Albert L. Smith. 
George D. Everett did a large business for many years, 
which was not confined to this town, but embraced parts 
of Medfield, Natick, and Sherborn. 

Frederick H. Wight now has a market business of 
nearly forty years' standing, and has a fine class of cus- 
tomers in the Newtons. In later years the market 
business has been taken up by George McKenzie 
and Lewis B. Paine. 

Stone-masonry has been carried on for a quarter of a 
century by the Welch family. George E. Welch is now 
engaged in the occupation, and has done some fine work 
in this and surrounding towns. 

The Dover Ice Company (Benjamin N. Sawin and 
Curtis Broad) was formed in 1878 to supply Dover, 
South Natick, and Wellesley with river ice. Some 



MANUFACTURING AND INDUSTRIES 291 

years later an ice-house was built at South Natick, and 
the trade is now transacted from that villaire 

Lewis Smith was perhaps the first to engage in the 
milk business here. About 1840 he opened a milk- 
route in Roxbury, where he delivered milk to the morn- 
ing trade, — leaving home for many years in the small 
hours of the morning. Finally, the business went to 
West Dedham, where numerous persons were engaged 
in the trade. 

In the development of the milk business the Post 
Brothers, of Powisset Farm, have built up a large whole- 
sale trade. The milk, gathered from the farmers in 
the early morning, is delivered the same day in Roxbury, 
and is retailed the following morning. 

Another large wholesale milk business was built up 
by Joseph Smith, who delivered some three hundred 
and fifty gallons of milk daily to retailers at Jamaica 
Plain. On the death of Mr. Smith, in 1894, the route 
was purchased by George E. Post. 

Michael Comiskey, in supplying Boston dealers, has 
established within a few years a large and flourishing 
wholesale milk business. 

A smaller business was maintained for many years 
by Asa Talbot, who delivered his milk at Boston 
Highlands. 

In the retail trade Dana C. Hanchett has built up a 
fine business in Wellesley, and the McGill Brothers at 
South Natick. Mr. Hanchett delivers not only to the 
college, but also to a large number of house customers. 

Ebenezer Newell, proprietor of the village tavern, 
was probably the first to open a store on the territory 
now comprised in this town, where he supplied the 



292 HISTORY OF DOVER 

groceries, called West India goods, and the few dry- 
goods then in demand. The business was continued 
in the new tavern under John Williams, and was 
probably much extended, as the building was better 
adapted to the business. 

A flourishing store was kept at Charles River Village 
by Josiah Newell, which at one time was conducted by 
his son, Josiah Newell, Jr. This store drew a large 
patronage from Needham. Mr. Newell moved from 
town, and the business was purchased by Jonathan 
Whiting. In later years it was carried on by A. R. 
Tuck and Ernest Wasserman. 

Mason Putnam, who lived in the last house in Dover 
on Dedham Street, built and opened in 1821 a grocery 
store, which he conducted for several years. 

In the westerly part of the town, Noah Fiske, who 
had worked in grocery stores in Boston and in other 
places, returned to Dover, and more than a half century 
ago engaged in the dry and West India goods business. 

Jonathan Battelle, who lived on Farm Street, also 
ran a store in connection with his farm and a beef and 
pork-packing business. 

These stores in the westerly part of the town drew 
a limited trade from Sherborn and Medfield. When 
the business at the center of the town declined, stores 
were opened at what was later called Bliss's Corner, by 
A. L. Derby, also by Captain Newell. Mr. Derby was 
succeeded by Micajah S. Plummer, who in turn sold the 
business to Linus Bliss. Mr. Bliss erected a new build- 
ing, and maintained a large and first-class country store. 
After the death of Mr. Bliss the business was continued 
by the Bacon Brothers, who were finally burned out, 
and the business came to an end. 



MANUFACTURING AND INDUSTRIES 293 

A grain and grocery business was conducted for 
many years by George D. Everett, who had a large 
trade not only in Dover, but also in Medfield. 

Soon after the Bacon Brothers discontinued their 
business, Lewis B. Paine built a store at the Center, 
on Springdale Avenue. After a short time T. Cooley 
Norton succeeded to the business. Mr. Norton died 
after a few years, and the business was purchased by 
J. W. Higgins, who is still the proprietor of the "Cen- 
tral Store." Mr. Higgins has developed and extended 
the business, and is now the owner of the only store in 
town. 

Mrs. William Cleveland kept for some years a variety 
store at her residence, the Abbott place, on Main 
Street. Mrs. Cleveland was given to trade, and took 
all kinds of produce in exchange for her goods. 

Isaac Henry Howe, in 1866, reopened the store in 
the old tavern building which was run for so many years 
by his grandfather, John Williams. Later Mr. Howe 
engaged in the grocery business in Fitchburg, Mass., 
where he died in the twenty-seventh year of his age. 

Stillman J. Spear established a printing business in 
the westerly part of the town. He furnished many 
novelties in card printing, and for a time did a large 
business through the mail. Later he was engaged to 
do the printing for the straw-works of D. D. Curtis & 
Co., of Medfield, and soon after moved his business to 
that town. 

Dover has never been prolific in inventions, yet sev- 
eral have been made which have been of service to 
humanity and of value in farm life. In the days of the 
iron industry, Daniel Chickering, one of the proprietors 



294 HISTORY OF DOVER 

of the " Dover Union Iron Company," invented a 
machine for cutting and heading nails at the same time. 
Mr. Chickering failed to patent his machine, and others 
soon entered into his labors. He was the original in- 
ventor of mud shoes, worn by horses in boggy meadows, 
a pair of which appears in the illustration of " Farm Im- 
plements." 

Charles Marden was the original inventor of weather 
strips for the bottom of doors. 

Ernest F. Hodgson is the inventor of the " Peep o' 
Day Incubator " and " Peep o' Day Brooder." 

The incubator is a hot-air machine. The automatic 
heat regulator controls the temperature, and the ventila- 
tion and moisture are controlled by a simple valve, thus 
making it possible to operate it under all conditions and 
changes of atmosphere. Absolute control of the venti- 
lation and moisture is obtained, and all cold draughts and 
over-supply of moisture are avoided. 

The " Peep o' Day Brooder " is three feet square, and 
contains a hover and warm-mother. It is heated by a 
brooder stove, with a water pan around the base of the 
burner, which prevents the oil from becoming heated 
and gives the lamp a steady flame. The brooder has a 
shelter-board, also a folding open shed attachment. 

Walter M. Wotton is the inventor of an improved 
patent nut-lock, especially adapted for use in connection 
with nuts applied to bolts which pass through a railway 
rail and fish-plate. This improved device consists of 
a spiral spring made of wire, preferably square in cross- 
sections, and consisting essentially of a little more than 
three coils, the central coil being smaller in diameter 
than the outer coils, so that the spring is practically a 
double helical spring. 



MANUFACTURING AND INDUSTRIES 



29s 




Samuel M. Colcord invented and patented a silo 
governor, which was awarded a medal and diploma at- 
the World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago in 1893. 
When, in 1877, Mr. Colcord turned his attention to 
agriculture, he was attracted by a French work, "The 
Ensilage of Maize." The system of preserving green- 
cut corn had been tried, but not with complete success, 
on account of the acidity found 
in the ensilage. Mr. Colcord, 
with his silo governor, succeeded 
in keeping the heat in his silo 
below eighty degrees Fahren- 
heit, which it is believed had 
never before been done. In 
1883 he had his silo governor 
patented. It is an apparatus for removing the air froni' 
freshly-cut corn, thus preventing fermentation almost- 
entirely. The New Jersey Experiment Station indorsed 
the governor, and published reports on the successful 
working of the apparatus. The cut represents a silo 
with two governors in place. 

A shows a frame of perforated iron pipe leading by 
the upright outlet, g and m, to the outer air. The air 
in the corn is expelled through these by pressure applied 
to the top of the mass : /- represents a plug by which 
the silo may be drained or washed. 

Charles H. Higgins, D.V.M., while a student at 
McGill University, investigated in 1895 an outbreak 
of true chicken cholera which occurred near Montreal, 
a brief account of which is as follows : — 

In Europe and America the barnyards are occasion- 
ally invaded by epizootics affecting pigeons, turkeys. 



296 HISTORY OF DOVER 

chickens, ducks, and geese, which cause almost as much 
destruction among them as the occasional epidemics of 
cholera, small-pox, and " black plague " among the 
human family. 

Since Perroncito, in 1878, first observed the bacilli 
responsible for one of these diseases, they have served 
as subjects for many scientific papers both in Europe 
and America. Pasteur was the first to thoroughly in- 
vestigate what is now termed "chicken cholera." It 
was through the study of this disease that this eminent 
French scientist was enabled to place before the public 
the " attenuated virus " for this disease, as well as for 
many others, among which are those fatal to human 
life. 

In December, 1895, there occurred near Montreal an 
outbreak of this disease, which, when compared with 
germs direct from the European outbreaks of the dis- 
ease, proved to be identical. Compared with the so- 
called "fowl cholera" of the Atlantic coast of the 
United States, it was found to vary in a number of 
essential characteristics, and now stands as the first 
outbreak of genuine " European chicken cholera " which 
has been investigated on this continent. 

Briefly, the bacillus is described as follows : — 

MorpJiology. — Bacilli with rounded ends, sometimes 
so short as to resemble micrococci. Stains with usual 
aniline dyes, but not by Gram's method. The ends are 
deeply stained, while the central portion retains none of 
the coloring matter. 

Biological Characters. — Anaerobic and facultative 
anaerobic, non-liquefying, non-motile bacillus. Spore 
formation not observed. Grows in usual culture media 



MANUFACTURING AND INDUSTRIES 297 

at room temperature. Upon gelatine plates appears 
about the fourth day, being pale white, finely granular 
colonies with smooth edges. In gelatine stick cultures 
the growth is most abundant along the line of inocula- 
tion, there being little or none on the surface. Upon 
the surface of agar, pale white, almost colorless colonies 
are seen, two-tenths to five-tenths millimeters in diam- 
eter. Old cultures emit a peculiar penetrating odor. 
Upon blood serum a thin white layer is developed along 
the line of inoculation. Upon potato a thin yellowish 
streak is formed. 

Pathogenesis. — Very pathogenic for rabbits, pigeons, 
chickens, and turkeys. Non-pathogenic for guinea-pigs, 
cats, and dogs. ' Immunity has been produced by the 
use of an attenuated germ. 

While pursuing this investigation, researches were 
also made upon mixtures of pure chemicals with a view 
to substitution for the ordinary broth culture medium. 
While not meeting with complete success in this line, 
it was ascertained that some forms of bacterial life grow 
as vigorously and others much more vigorou.sly than on 
the ordinary broth medium. 

In authorship, residents of Dover have written the 
following works : " Colcord's Green Forage System," 
Samuel M. Colcord ; " Thurid, and Other Poems," 
George E. Otis ; " A Willing Transgressor," " A Bud 
of Promise," " Rags and Velvet Gowns," "Dear Daugh- 
ter Dorothy," "Dorothy and Anton," "Betty, — a 
Butterfly," "Little Sister of Winifred," "Robin's Re- 
cruit," "Penelope Prig," "The Black Dog," A. G. 
Plympton ; " A Guide Book to Norumbega and Vine- 
land," Elizabeth G. Shepard ; "God and Home and 
Native Land," Rev. P. C. Headley. 



298 HISTORY OF DOVER 

After denuding the forests, ordinary farming was 
taken up and carried on with a large acreage of cereals 
and vegetables. Oxen were kept in large numbers, as 
horses were not then used here for farm work. Sheep 
were raised in abundance, but have now entirely dis- 
appeared. Geese and turkeys were common, and the 
former were often yoked together to keep them within 
bounds. The number of hens, and the product of 
the poultry-yard, have greatly increased in latter years. 
While a growing number are engaged in market gar- 
dening, the chief element in farming to-day is the 
production of milk, which goes to the Boston market. 

Dover farmers took a deep interest in the Norfolk 
Agricultural Society, and eighty-seven residents became 
members of the society during the years of its active 
existence. 

The following statistical table shows the changes 
that have occurred in farming and in the industries of 
the town during the last half century : — 



MANUFACTURING AND INDUSTRIES 



-99 



STATISTICS. 



Number iron mills 
Value of product . 
Number employed 



Brush factorj' . 
Value of brushes 



Boots and shoes (p 
Value . . . 
Number employed 



Value of whips 
Number employed 



Cords of firewood 
Value .... 



Number of horses 
Value .... 



Bushels of com 
Value . . . . 



Bushels of rye 
Value . . . 



Bushels of barley 
Value .... 



Bushels of oats 
Value . . . . 



Bushels of beans 
Value .... 



Bushels of potatoes 
Value . . . 



Tons of hay 
Value . . . 



Bushels of fruit 
Value . . . . 



Pounds of butter 
Value .... 



Pounds of cheese 
Value .... 



Gallons of milk 
Value .... 



Number of swine 
Value .... 



1845- 



Value of tobacco and 1 
Number employed 



3 

5165,500 



7,410 

55.725 
19 



864 

j2,i6o 



2,402 

$1,802 



278 

$222 



272 
$163 



766 
$306 



8,005 
$2,001 



761 

$7,610 



4,850 
$970 



8,100 
$1,330 



3.500 

$210 



15,000 

$1,500 



216 

$I,5'2 



1855. 



$2,000 

7,788 

$14,000 

19 

$450 

3 

>,379 
^4,705 

94 

$7,525 

4,6So 
)f4.753.75 

320 

$416 



$180.25 

480 
$331-70 



$300 

5.194 
4,554.90 



$2,454 

11,299 
$2,706 

1.340 

$133 

20,787 

$2,286 

76 

$687 

$3,000 
4 



1865. 



1.397 
$5,580 

126 
$7,900 

3,030 

$4,545 

•33 
$199 

632 
$790 

169 

$127 



5.636 
$4,227 



$21,525 



$6,556 

5.150 

$1,716 



14,225 
$2,565 



$5,548 

$4,700 
5 



1875- 



$600 



791 
$3,820 



95 
$9,800 



1,697 
$1,628 



280 
$346 



147 
$173 



82 
$200 



5,306 
$4,076 



971 
$19,052 



10,475 
$5,439 



7.431 

$2,903 



66,697 
$9,532 



$2,238 
$2,850 



1885. 



1,063 



150 
$15,336 



2,982 
$2,047 



357 

$271 



98 

S83 



244 
$188 

6,784 
$4,397 

1,199 

$21,823 

5.047 

$2,756 

10,091 

$3,071 

40 

$3.00 

217,928 
$32,308 

272 
$1,596 



1895- 



1,148 
$4,849 



219 
$14,940 



2,055 
$1,040 



$5 



'3 
$>3 



10,35 ' 
$4,916 



$34,391 



970 
$23' 



371,420 
$5<.357 



1,190 

$7.52' 



300 



HISTORY OF DOVER 

STATISTICS.— Continued. 





1845- 


X855. 


1865. 


1875- 


1885. 


1895- 


Value of woodeu ware 
Number employed . 






_ 


J 1, 000 

2 










Number of oxen . 
Value . . 








; 


5S 

?3,472 

250 
$7,726 

?23.33 


46 

296 
$9,765 


26 

$2,350 

325 
$14,378 

$16 


10 

5505 

541 
$20,183 

$4 


$80 


Number of cows . 
Value 






611 

$18,740 


Value of honey 








Cranberries . . . 
Value 








- 


34l«- 
S767 


b\a. 

$42 


2^1 bush. 

$575 


134 bush. 

$550 




Value of casks . . 
Number employed 








- 


$5,000 
7 










Paper mills . . . 
Value of product . 
Number employed 








__ 


- 


I 

$21,600 

7 


I 
$62,400 






Number of farms . 
Number employed 
Value of farms . . 








- 


E 


121 
240 

$270,376 


89 

$525,843 


163 




Dressed beef (pounds 
Value 


) 






- 




42,700 
$4,270 

14,982 
$2,097 

$875 


17.350 
$1,488 

10,940 

$1,412 

$486 


673 

$66 

$',415 




Veal (pounds) . . 
Value 








Value of poultry . 








Value of eggs . . 








- 


- 


$1,137 


$2,524 


$5,208 


$11,400 


Gallons of cider 
Value 








- 


12,000 

52.374 


- 


21,876 
$3,989 

1,200 

$225 

2,700 
$1,100 

3,029 
$2,006 

4,650 

$810 


6,740 
$967 

5,068 
$579 

29,000 
$1,007 

5,382 
$3,108 

7,000 
$900 


i35 
$17 


Gallons of vinegar 
Value 
















Value 








Hens and chickens 
Value 






5.951 
$2,960 


Bushel of charcoal 
Value 








Green-house products 






— 




- 


- 


- 


$6,900 


Poultry products . . 






- 


- 


- 


- 


- 


$17,469 


Value of meat . . . 






- 


- 


- 


- 


- 


$2,163 


Value of vegetables . 






- 


- 


- 


- 


- 


$11,488 


Animal products . . 






- 


- 


- 


- 


- 


$9,549 


Value hay, straw, & fodde 


■ 


— 


- 


— 


— 


— 


$41,357 



CHAPTER XXII. 

THE CIVIL WAR. 

Tidings of War — Liberty-poles — Battles in which 
Dover Soldiers served — Names of Dover Sol- 
diers KILLED OR died IN SERVICE — HOME GUARDS — 

Action of the Town — Recruiting Committee — 
Amount of Money raised — Draft — Patriotic 
Women — War Envelopes — Record of the Soldiers 
IN THE Army and Navy. 



How sleep the brave who sink to rest, 
By all their country's wishes blest ! 



By fair>' hands their knell is rung ; 
By forms unseen their dirge is sung ; 
There Honor comes, a pilgrim gray, 
To bless the turf that wraps their clay ; 
And Freedom shall awhile repair, 
To dwell a weeping hermit tliere. 

— Collins. 

Immediately after the inauguration of President Lin- 
coln, in 1 86 1, came ominous tidings of war. While 
many thought the war-clouds would soon pass by, others 
anxiously looked upon the faces of their husbands, sons, 
or brothers, dreading the sacrifice that must be made for 
their country. The daily newspapers bore such head- 
lines as these : " The Secession of Virginia Considered 
Certain"; "Recruits Raised in Washington and Balti- 
more for the Southern Army " ; " Preparations for the 
Attack on Fort Sumter " ; " The War Commenced " ; 
"The War." 



302 HIS TORY OF DOVER 

In the firing on Fort Sumter in April, i86i, and in 
President Lincoln's call for seventy-five thousand troops 
for three months, the patriotism of the town was stirred 
as it had not been stirred since the 19th of April, 1775, 
when sixty-six minute-men gathered in an incredibly 
short time from the remotest parts of the town on the 
village green, and hastily marched under the command 
of Captain Battle towards Lexington. 

While no public meetings were held at the time of 
the breaking out of the Rebellion, yet the residents 
numerously attended those held in other towns, to 
awaken the people to the duties of the hour. Flags 
were floated from many a private flag-staff, while the 
residents of one neighborhood erected a " Liberty-pole " 
and had public exercises in connection with the flag- 
raising. 

In response to the call of President Lincoln and Gov- 
ernor Andrew for troops, Andrew W, Bartlett, who was 
in Lowell at the time, enlisted for a three month's ser- 
vice in the Massachusetts Sixth, which was attacked 
by the mob in Baltimore on the anniversary of the 
battle of Lexington, April 19, 1861. Young Bartlett 
escaped without injury, but, like the Dover farmers at 
the battle of Lexington, witnessed the spilling of the 
first blood in the great conflict which followed. Seth 
Record was also a minute-man, and was mustered 
into the Fourth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer 
Militia April 22, 1861. As the name implies, they 
were those who responded at a minute's notice to pro- 
tect the national capital. The minute-men went mainly 
in citizens' attire, armed with various weapons of defence. 
A historical writer says : " A delay of half an hour in 



THE CIVIL WAR 



303 



the arrival of the minute-men in Washington would have 
found our capital and the archives of our government 
in the hands of the rebels, who would at once have been 
recognized by England and France. Under these con- 
ditions, how could our government have established it- 
self among the nations of the world ? " John A. Strang 
was enlisted in the Massachusetts Fourth, which was 
one of the first regiments to set foot on secession soil. 
C. Dwight Hanscom enlisted into the Fourth Regiment 
of Infantry May 15, 186 1. All of the above regiments 
were a part of the organization of the Massachusetts 
minute-men of 1861. 

Out of a population of less than seven hundred souls 
at the breaking out of the Rebellion, seventy-seven men 
were enlisted to the credit of the town in the army and 
navy before the close of the war in 1865. 

Dover soldiers served in a large number of different 
companies in the artillery, cavalry, battery, and infantry, 
besides the United States Navy. 

They were consequently exposed to many hardships 
and much danger. The following are the most impor- 
tant battles in which they took part : Big Bethel, Second 
Bull Run, Manassas, South Mountain, Antietam, Fred- 
ericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, the battle of 
the Wilderness, Spottsylvania Court House, Petersburg, 
" On to Richmond " with Grant, and in other engage- 
ments at Olustee, Fla., Rappahannock Station, Drury's 
Bluff, and Thoroughfare Gap. 

Two were commissioned officers, — Henry A. Fuller 
and Henry H. Ayer, both being first lieutenants. 
Thirty-three enlisted for three years, seven for one year, 
nine for nine months, two for three months, and four for 



304 HISTORY OF DOVER 

one hundred days. Nine were killed or died in the 
service as follows : John M. Brown, died September 2, 

1 862, at Yorktown, Va. ; John Stevens, died November 
21, 1864, New Orleans, La. ; Andrew W. Bartlett, died 
of womids received at Olustee, Fla., February 28, 1864; 
George R. Markham, killed at Second Bull Run ; 
Henry C. Jennings, died August 6, 1864; James Gary, 
died October 25, 1862, Sharpsburg, Md. ; Perez F. 
Fearing, died July 30, 1864, of wounds received in the 
mine-explosion at the battle before Petersburg, Va. ; 
Lieut. Henry H. Ayer, wounded severely August 26, 

1863, killed May 16, 1864, Drury's Bluff, Va. ; Albert A. 
Woods, died March 21, 1863, New Orleans, La. 

" The muffled drum's sad roll has beat 

The soldiers' last tattoo ; 
No more on life's parade shall meet 

That brave and fallen few ; 
On fame's eternal camping-ground 

Their silent tents are spread, 
And Glory guards with solemn round 

The bivouac of the dead." 

Soon after the close of the war, remembering what 
our soldiers had done to preserve a nation based on 
manhood alone, where every individual has the " inalien- 
able right of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," 
the people devised various plans to perpetuate their 
memory, such as the building of a memorial hall or 
the erection of a soldiers' monument ; but all of these 
projects failed. 

In 1876 the town set apart lot numbered one hun- 
dred and forty-one in the cemetery for annual decora- 
tion " in memory of the soldiers who belonged to this 



THE CIVIL WAR 



305 



town, but are buried elsewhere, or for the erection of a 
fitting emblem of their services." 

At the breaking out of the Rebellion there had been 
no military organization in Dover for many years ; but a 
company known as the " Home Guards " was soon or- 
ganized with Amos W. Shumway as captain, Calvin 
Richards, lieutenant, Benjamin Newell, ensign. Meet- 
ings for drill were held Saturday afternoons on the vil- 
lage green, and marches were often made to the resi- 
dences of officers, where the company was entertained. 
Some fifty persons were enrolled in its membership, 
with a band of fifteen musicians. The organization 
took its name from the fact that the company voted not 
to go out of town. In 1861 the selectmen were Amos 
W. Shumway, Benjamin N. Sawin, and Henry Horton. 
The first question relating to the v/ar was considered at 
the November meeting, 1861, when it was voted "to 
pay the families of the soldiers in the service from 
Dover the aid allowed by the State law." This aid was 
restricted to twelve dollars per month. The amount 
paid was reimbursed to the town by the treasurer of the 
Commonwealth, and for this reason was called " State 
aid." At the March meeting in 1862 the voters felt 
the seriousness of the times, and resolved to elect a 
board of selectmen of the older and most experienced 
men, and this feeling prevailed during the years which 
followed. The wisdom of this course is illustrated 
by the fact that during the entire period of the war 
no illegal action was taken, and no perplexing ques- 
tion had to be settled at law, and no money was lost or 
squandered. 

It is remembered of Calvin Richards, chairman of 



3o6 HISTORY OF DOVER 

the selectmen in 1862, that he said, "It is very impor- 
tant that in this business of enlisting men as soldiers, 
in providing for their families, in paying bounties, that 
we go exactly in conformity with the law ; for later, if 
we make a mistake, there may be lawsuits and other 
matters which may cost the town much loss." 

July 28, 1862, the town voted to pay the sum of two 
hundred dollars to each volunteer who shall enlist 
within thirty days from the date of the meeting. Nine 
were required to fill the quota of the town. It was also 
voted to pay such volunteers as shall enlist as soon as 
they are mustered into the service. State aid was also 
voted to all having families. At this meeting a recruit- 
ing committee consisting of five members was chosen to 
assist the selectmen in procuring recruits to fill the 
quota of the town. This committee, which consisted 
of Ephraim Wilson, John Q. A. Nichols, Asa Talbot, 
Clement Bartlett, and Benjamin N. Sawin, did efficient 
work, and were continued with the different boards of 
selectmen to the close of the war. Linus Bliss, treas- 
urer of the committee, made a report in print to the 
town February 22, 1865, giving an account of their 
work. Feeling the importance of this work and as a 
means of encouraging others in these trying times, the 
town voted to have the proceedings of their meeting 
published in the Dedham Gazette and Boston Journal. 
SeiDtember i, 1862, the town voted "that the sum of 
two hundred dollars be paid to any resident of the town 
of Dover who volunteered to fill the quota required of 
this town for the term of nine months, whether it be 
more or less, and that said bounty be paid after they 
have been sworn into the service, and that a list of the 



THE CIVIL WAR 



307 



names of the persons be kept in the order in which 
they volunteer ; and, if more than the required number 
enlist, the excess shall be stricken from the roll, begin- 
ning at the bottom and stopping at the required 
number." 

It was soon found necessary, however, to retain any 
excess of men; and November 4, 1862, it was voted 
"that the number in excess of the required quota be 
retained, and that the selectmen pay the bounty." 

Soldiers' families were protected by " State aid " from 
year to year ; and, when a draft became necessary, the 
town voted " to give State aid to the families of drafted 
meu the same as volunteers." 

April 4, 1864, it was voted that the town grant one 
hundred and twenty-five dollars for each man required 
of this town under the several calls of the President of 
the United States, dated October 17, 1863, February 
I, 1864, and under any order or call of the said Presi- 
dent issued after the first day of March, 1864. Liberal 
contributions were made from time to time by citizens 
to strengthen the hands of the recruiting committee. 
Although the money was afterwards paid back by the 
town, the act was in no case less generous or patriotic. 
In 1864 two thousand six hundred dollars was con- 
tributed by citizens. May 2, 1865, the town voted "to 
raise by taxation two thousand six hundred dollars to 
pay every person the amount by them paid to furnish 
men on the quota of Dover in the year 1864, except two 
dollars which is to be retained from every male person 
of the town who paid such subscription." Contributions 
were not confined to citizens who were liable to draft : 
others were cheerful givers. 



3o8 HISTORY OF DOVER 

Linus Bliss and George D. Everett in 1 864 furnished 
substitutes, who were enlisted for two years and placed 
to the quota of Dover. The two substitutes cost four 
hundred dollars ; and, by vote of the town, in 1865 this 
amount was refunded. The town raised and expended 
during the war, exclusive of State aid, seven thousand 
six hundred and nineteen dollars and seventy-five cents. 

The amount of money raised and expended by the 
town in State aid was one thousand five hundred and 
seventy-six dollars and twenty-three cents. The quota 
of the town was so well maintained that, in response to 
President Lincoln's numerous calls for troops, only 
thirty-three men were demanded of the town. 

Thirty-seven men were furnished, — a surplus of four 
over all demands. Of this number twenty-two were 
enlisted for a three years' service, eight for nine months, 
and seven entered the army. 

In the draft which occurred on the 13th of July, 
1863, eight men were drafted. Ansel K. Tisdale and 
Sumner S. Allen were discharged, the former having 
served in the Massachusetts Thirteenth and had an 
honorable discharge. Thomas McGowan failed to re- 
port. George L. Howe, Charles K. Kirby, John O. A. 
Nichols, Owen Kennedy, and J. Stanley Shaw paid 
commutation, hi this record of the service of Dover 
soldiers we would not forget a large number of patriotic 
citizens who through family or peculiar duties remained 
at home, but who contributed in most efficient ways for 
the preservation of the Union. The town records show 
with what perfect unanimity all patriotic measures were 
passed, and reveal the fact that, while there were many 
changes in the board of selectmen during the war 



THE CIVIL WAR 



309 



period, both political parties were always represented on 
the board. 

What shall be said of the patriotic women of Dover ? 
The full measure of their patriotism can never be given, 
for " they also serve who only stand and wait." Scarcely 
had the smoke cleared from the first battle at Bull Run 
when the women of this town met to prepare lint and 
bandages for the wounded, whose cry of distress had 
touched every true woman's heart. Balzac says : 
" Woman has this in common with angels : suffering 
beings belong especially to her." At this time the 
churches forgot their sectarianism ; and as a united body 
the women met, without waiting for the organization of 
a " Soldiers' Aid Society," in hall, in chapel, in school- 
house, and provided necessary articles to strengthen the 
hands of the sympathetic and self-sacrificing nurses who 
were caring for the wounded and the sick, on the field 
and in the hospital. 

In the beginning of the war, when the cry went forth 
for every one to show his colors, the women, under the 
inspiring efforts of Miss Sarah Plummer, made a flag 
with their own hands. As bunting was scarce and 
high in price consequent to a small supply, the ladies 
purchased Turkey red and bleached cotton, out of which 
they made the flag, which was floated during the entire 
period of the war. The flag bore on the blue not only 
the required number of stars, but in addition a large 
eagle. The flag-staff was erected by the men opposite 
the residence of George D. Everett. The young ladies, 
with the enthusiasm of early womanhood, assisted by 
the young men, provided entertainments to raise money 
for the purchase of necessary articles, which willing 



3 TO HISTORY OF DOVER 

hands made into stockings, mittens, comforters, and 
blankets, distributed through the New England Sani- 
tary Commission or the Soldiers' Aid Society, the 
latter being composed entirely of patriotic women. 
The teachers in the public schools taught the chil- 
dren to sing patriotic songs ; and their united voices 
were an inspiration as in the morning hours they 

sang, — 

"We '11 rally round the flag, boys, 
We '11 rally once again, 
Shouting the battle-cry of freedom." 

As a reward for perfect lessons the children were 
allowed to pick lint, and the girls made pin-cushions, 
which were forwarded to the soldiers. 

In summer the women made jams for the sick in 
hospitals, from raspberries and blackberries, which had 
been gathered by the boys and girls in field and high- 
way. The skilled cooks of a neighborhood frequently 
united in preparing savory viands, substantial meats, 
and dainty bits of cooking, which they united in sending 
to the soldier-boys in the field as they had opportunity. 
The intellectual wants of the soldiers were not forgotten 
by the people of their town. Books and papers were 
sent in abundance, the reading of which helped the 
soldiers to beguile many a weary hour. 

The cost of commodities steadily increased during 
the war period. The following prices, taken from the 
books of George D. Everett for the fall of 1864 and the 
spring of 1S65, show the cost of articles at this time 
pork, twenty-two cents a pound ; lard, twenty-five cents 
a pound ; sugar, twenty-eight cents a pound ; butter, 
fifty-eight cents a pound ; tea, one dollar and forty 



THE CIVIL WAR 311 

cents a pound ; potatoes, two dollars and thirty cents 
a bushel ; flour, nineteen dollars a barrel ; molasses, 
one dollar and ten cents a gallon ; kerosene, one dollar 
and ten cents a gallon ; hay, forty dollars a ton ; oats, 
one dollar ; corn, four dollars and forty-five cents a bag ; 
meal, four dollars and t\yenty cents a bag ; nails, eleven 
cents a pound. ( 

In the early years of the Rebellion " war envelopes " 
were used in correspondence as an expression of the 
patriotism of the people. As time went on they were 
made to illustrate the history of the war, although as 
originally issued they but illustrated the sentiment of 
the people. Crude in design, nevertheless they inspired 
many a soldier in the camp and on the field. Beautiful 
sentiments were sometimes expressed, and now and then 
a verse appeared on an envelope, designed to commemo- 
rate an heroic deed. The following verse was thus 
used to commemorate the romantic death of Colonel 
Ellsworth in 1 86 1 : — 

" Do n't shed a tear for him ! 

Better to go, 
Eager with victory, 

Placing the foe. 
For one life like this life 

A thousand shall pay, 
And the fury it kindles 

Shall carry the day." 

The record of the services of Dover soldiers is given 
in full : — 

William H. Allen, private. Company M, Third Rhode 
Island Heavy Artillery; enrolled at Providence, Jan. 12, 
1862; mustered in Feb. 12, 1862; discharged on sur- 



312 HISTORY OF DOVER 

geon's certificate, July 2, 1862. This record may not 
be correct ; but this is the only one appearing on the 
record of the State of Rhode Island answering to the 
individual of the above name, who should have been 
placed to the credit of Dover; The selectmen, under 
date of Aug. 26, 1862, make oath that William Allen 
belonged to the quota of Dover, and was enlisted in a 
Rhode Island battery. 

Henry H. Ayer, first lieutenant. Company B, Third 
Infantry, New- Hampshire Volunteers; appointed Aug. 
22, 1861 ; mustered in Aug. 22, 1861, three years' 
service; appointed captain. Company H, Aug. i, 1862 ; 
wounded severely Aug. 26, 1863 ; killed May 16, 1864, 
Drury's Bluff, Va. 

Calvin Ayres, private, age twenty-five, Seventh Bat- 
tery, Light Artillery, Massachusetts Volunteers ; mus- 
tered in May 27, 1862, three years' service; discharged 
Aug. 26, 1862, disability. 

Samuel H. Bachelder, private, age twenty -nine. 
Company I, Thirty-fifth Regiment, Massachusetts Vol- 
unteers ; mustered in Aug. 16, 1862, three years' ser- 
vice ; mustered out Jan. 9, 1 863. Expiration of service, 
wrongly credited to Cambridge, Mass. 

Andrew W. Bartlett, private, age twenty-four, Com- 
pany C, Sixth Massachusetts Volunteers ; enrolled at 
Lowell; mustered in April 22, 1861, three months' ser- 
vice; discharged at expiration of service, Aug. 2, 1861 ; 
enlisted Company I, Fourth Cavalry, Massachusetts 
Volunteers; mustered in Sept. 25, 1861, three years' 
service ; transferred to Company I, Fourth Cavalry, 
and promoted to corporal; re-enlisted Jan. i, 1864, for 
three years. He was mortally wounded at Olustee, 



THE CIVIL WAR 313 

Fla., Feb. 20, 1864, and died at Beaufort, S.C., Feb. 
28, 1864. 

George Bemis, erroneously credited to Needham, pri- 
vate, age eighteen years, Company K, Forty-second 
Volunteer Militia ; mustered in July 1 8, 1 864, one hun- 
dred days' service ; discharged Nov. 1 1 , 1 864. 

Chester A. Bigelow, musician, age eighteen. Com- 
pany H, Thirteenth Infantry, Massachusetts Volun- 
teers; mustered in Feb. 24, 1862, three years' service; 
transferred July 14, 1864, to Company I, Thirty- 
ninth Regiment ; taken prisoner at second Bull Run, 
exchanged the following January ; again taken prisoner 
at Gettysburg, July i, 1863 ; did not serve in Thirty- 
ninth Regiment, as he was appointed ward master in 
hospital. Discharged Feb. 23, 1865, expiration of 
service. 

Heman Blackwell,' not traced in adjutant-general's 
office. 

James E. Brown, private, age twenty-one. Eleventh 
Battery, Light Artillery, Massachusetts Volunteers ; 
mustered in Dec. 30, 1864, three years' service; dis- 
charged Jan. 16, 1865, expiration of service. 

John M. Brown, private, age thirty-three years. 
Seventh Battery, Light Artillery, Massachusetts Volun- 
teer Militia, three years' service; mustered in May 14, 
1862 ; died at Yorktown, Va., Sept. 2, 1862. 

James Gary, private, age twenty-one. Company G, 
Thirty-second Infantry, Massachusetts Volunteer Mili- 
tia; mustered in May 27, 1862, three years' service; 
died Oct. 25, 1862, Sharpsburg, Md. ; received bounty, 
four hundred and eighty-two dollars and sixty-six cents. 

'The selectmen, under date of Aug. 25, 1862, make oath that he had entered the ser- 
vice from Dover. 



314 HISTORY OF DOVER 

Irving Colburn, private, age seventeen, Company F, 
Forty-fourth Infantry, Massachusetts Volunteer Mihtia ; 
mustered in Sept. 12, 1862, nine months' service; dis- 
charged at termination of service, June 18, 1863. 

Charles Conner received two hundred dollars' bounty 
from the town in 1864; record not traced in the ofifice 
of the adjutant-general, Boston. 

Theodore L. Dunn, private, age twenty-one. Com-, 
pany C, Thirteenth Infantry, Massachusetts Volunteer 
Militia; mustered in Feb. 25, 1862, three years' ser- 
vice; discharged Dec. 18, 1862, disability. 

George W. Fearing, corporal, age twenty-five. Com- 
pany K, Forty-fourth Infantry, Massachusetts Volun- 
teers ; mustered in Sept. 16, 1862, nine months' ser- 
vice ; discharged July 30, 1863, expiration of service. 

Perez F. Fearing, private, age twenty-two. Company 
I, Thirty-fifth Infantry, Massachusetts Volunteers ; mus- 
tered in Aug. 16, 1862, three years' service; mortally 
wounded in mine explosion before Petersburg, and died 
July 30, 1864. 

Henry A. Fuller, first lieutenant, age twenty-four. 
Thirtieth Infantry; mustered in Feb. 20, 1862, three 
years' service; discharged May i, 1865. 

Edwin F. Gay, private, age eighteen. Company F, 
Forty-fourth Infantry, Massachusetts Volunteers ; mus- 
tered in Sept. 12, 1862, nine months' service; dis- 
charged June 18, 1863, expiration of service. 

John T. Gilman, private, age twenty-one. Company 
M, First Cavalry, Massachusetts Volunteers ; mustered 
in Sept. 23, 1861, three years' service; transferred to 
Company M, Fourth Cavalry ; discharged Sept. 24, 
1864, expiration of service. 



THE CIVIL WAR 315 

Hibbard W. Oilman, private, age twenty-two, Com- 
pany D, First Battalion, Frontier Cavalry, Massachusetts 
Volunteers; mustered in Jan. 2, 1865, one year's ser- 
vice; discharged June 30, 1865, expiration of service. 

Lewis E. Oilman, private, age twenty-four, Company 
L, Third Cavalry, Massachusetts Volunteers ; mustered 
in Dec. 30, 1 864, one year's service ; discharged Sept. 
28, 1865, expiration of service. 

William R. Oroce, private, age nineteen, Company O, 
Forty-third Infantry, Massachusetts Volunteers ; mus- 
tered in Sept. 12, 1862, nine months' service; dis- 
charged June 30, 1863, expiration of service. 

Henry J. Hanks, private, age twenty-seven. Company 
L, Fourth Cavalry, Massachusetts Volunteers, three 
years' service; mustered in Oct. 7, 1861 ; discharged 
Oct. 12, 1864, expiration of service. 

William O. Hart, private, age eighteen. Company K, 
Forty-second Massachusetts Volunteers, one hundred 
days' service; mustered in July 18, 1864; discharged 
Nov. II, 1864, expiration of service. Wrongly credited 
to Montville, Me. 

C. Dwight Hanscom, private, age twenty-three. Com- 
pany I, Second Infantry, Massachusetts Volunteers ; 
enlisted May 15, 1861, three years' service ; promoted 
to corporal Dec. 22, 1861 ; wounded May 3, 1863, at 
the battle of Chancellorsville ; discharged in conse- 
quence of wounds, Dec. 12, 1863. 

John Hogan, private, age thirty-two ; mustered in 
Sept. 5, 1862 ; service not traced in office of adjutant- 
general. 

Henry C. Jennings, private, age thirty. Company C, 
Nineteenth Infantry, Massachusetts Volunteers ; mus- 



3l6 HISTORY OF DOVER 

tered in April 22, 1864, three years' service; died Aug. 
6, 1864. 

Augustus A. Leach, private, age twenty-one, Company 
C, Second Infantry; mustered in July 30, 1862, three 
years' service; discharged Sept. 23, 1862, disability. 

William Lennon, private, age twenty-one. Fourteenth 
Battery, Light Artillery, Massachusetts Volunteers ; 
mustered in March 4, 1 862, three years' service ; dis- 
charged June 15, 1865, expiration of service. 

Elbridge L. Mann, private, age twenty-eight, Com- 
pany B, Forty-second Infantry, Massachusetts Volun- 
teers ; mustered in Sept. 22, 1862, nine months' service ; 
discharged Aug. 20, 1863, expiration of service. 

George H. Mann, corporal, age twenty-two. Company 
K, Forty-fourth Infantry, Massachusetts Volunteers ; 
mustered in Sept. 12, 1862, nine months' service ; dis- 
charged June 18, 1863, exi3iration of service. 

William McAllister, corporal, age twenty-one. Com- 
pany I, Fourth Heavy Artillery, Massachusetts Volun- 
teers ; mustered in Aug. 1 7, 1 864, one year's service ; 
discharged June 17, 1865, expiration of service. 

John McLaughlin, private, age thirty-eight. Company 
I, Fourth Heavy Artillery, Massachusetts Volunteers ; 
mustered in Aug. 17, 1864, one year's service; dis- 
charged June 17, 1865, expiration of service. 

William Martin,' not traced in adjutant-general's 
office. 

George R. Markham, private, age nineteen. Company 
H, Thirteenth Infantry; mustered in Feb. 24, 1862, 
three years' service; killed Aug. 30, 1862, at Bull 
Run, Va. 

' Reported by the recruiting committee as a resident of Dover, and as having en- 
listed into the service of the United States previous to Feb. i6, 1863. 



THE CIVIL WAR 317 

Ellis Marden, private, age thirty-nine, Company B, 
First Cavalry, Massachusetts Volunteers ; mustered in 
Sept. 17, 1 861, three years' service; deserted Dec. 31, 

1862, at Camp Parole, Annapolis, Md. 

Charles W. Myer, age forty-two. Company Y, Nine- 
teenth Infantry, Massachusetts Volunteers ; mustered in 
July 31, 1863, three years' service; deserted Aug. 20, 

1863. A substitute. 

Benjamin Miller, not traced in office of adjutant- 
general. 

Thomas Monroe, private, age thirty-two, wrongly 
credited to Boston, Company E, Third Heavy Artil- 
lery ; mustered in Oct. 19, 1863, three years' service; 
discharged Sept. 18, 1865. 

Michael O'Donnell, private, age twenty-three, Com- 
pany D, First Battalion, Frontier Cavalry, Massachu- 
setts Volunteers ; mustered in Jan. 2, 1865, one year's 
service ; discharged June 30, 1865, expiration of service. 

Timothy O'Ragan, private, age nineteen, wrongly 
credited to Needham, Company B, Forty-fifth Massa- 
chusetts Volunteers; mustered in Sept. 26, 1862, nine 
months' service; mustered out July 7, 1863. 

Seth Record, private, age twenty-two, Company B, 
Fourth Massachusetts Volunteer Militia ; mustered in 
April 22, 1861 ; mustered out July 22, 1861. 

Philo Record,' private, not traced in adjutant- 
general's office. 

Daniel Shruckrove,^ not traced in adjutant-general's 
office. 

' The selectmen, under dale of Aug. 25, 1S62, make oath that he had entered the 
semce of the United States from Dover. 

2 Reported by the recruiting committee as having been placed to the credit of 
Dover to meet the call of Dec. iS, 1864. 



315 HISTORY OF DOVER 

Frederick E. Smith, private, age eighteen. Company 
H, Sixteenth Massachusetts Volunteer Militia, one hun- 
dred days' service; mustered in July 23, 1864; mus- 
tered out Nov. 30, 1864, expiration of service. 

Lewis Smith, Jr., private, age nineteen. Company M, 
First Cavalry, Massachusetts Vokmteers, three years' 
service; mustered in Sept. 23, 1861 ; transferred to 
Company M, Fourth Cavalry ; discharged Sept. 24, 
1864, expiration of service. 

John E. Strang, private, age twenty-one. Company F, 

Fourth Infantry, Massachusetts Volunteers ; mustered 

in May 22, 1861, three months' service; discharged 

■July 22, 1861 ; re-enlisted and placed to the credit of 

Medfield ; died in the service. 

Howard A. Staples, private, age twenty-one. Com- 
pany H, Thirteenth Massachusetts Volunteers, three 
years' service; mustered in Feb. 21, 1862; wounded 
at Gettysburg July 3, 1863 ; transferred to Thirty- 
ninth, July 14, 1864; discharged; wrongly credited to 
Natick. . 

John Stevens, private, age thirty, Thirteenth Battery, 
Light Artillery, Massachusetts Volunteers, three years' 
service; mustered in April 21, 1864; died Nov. 21, 
1864, at New Orleans, La. 

Eugene Sumner, private. Company E, First Cavalry, 
three years' service; record not traced in adjutant- 
general's ofifice. 

Levi A. Talbot, private, age twenty. Company B, 
Forty-second Infantry, Massachusetts Volunteers, nine 
months' service; mustered in Sept. 22, 1862; dis- 
charged Aug. 20, 1863, expiration of service; wrongly 
credited to Sharon, Mass. 



THE CIVIL WAR 319 

Erastus L. Tennor enlisted on the quota of Dover, 
was transferred to the navy, and is wrongly credited to 
Brookline, Mass. 

Ansel K. Tisdale, private, age twenty-one, Company 
H, Thirteenth Infantry, Massachusetts Volunteers, three 
years' service; mustered in Aug. 18, 1863; discharged 
Nov. 26, 1862, disability. 

Benjamin W. Thomas, private, age twenty-five. Com- 
pany B, Fifth Cavalry, Massachusetts Volunteers, three 
years' service; mustered in Jan. 29, 1864; discharged 
Oct. 31, 1865. 

Samuel G. Thomas, saddler, age eighteen. Company 
B, Fifth Cavalry, Massachusetts Volunteers, three years' 
service; mustered in Jan. 29, 1864; discharged Oct. 
31, 1865. 

William H. Thomas enlisted Sept. 21, 1864, as a 
substitute ; record not traced in the office of the 
adj utant-general. 

James M. Towle, private, age eighteen. Company K, 
Fifty-sixth Infantry, Massachusetts Volunteers, three 
years' service; mustered in Feb. 25, 1864; deserted 
March 20, 1864, at Readville, Mass. 

Charles H. Tyler, private, enrolled Feb. 12, 1865; 
mustered out July 20, 1865, Second Cavalry. 

John H. Wade, private, age nineteen, enlisted Sept. 
I, 1864, one year's service; discharged June 4, 1865. 

Patrick Wall, private, age forty, Company A, Twenty- 
eighth Infantry, Massachusetts Volunteers, three years' 
service; mustered in Dec. 13, 1861 ; discharged Nov. 
9, 1862, disability. 

James Welsh, private, age twenty-six, Company I, 
Thirty-fifth Infantry, Massachusetts Volunteers, three 



320 HISTORY OF DOVER 

years' service; mustered in Aug. i6, 1862; deserted 
Sept. 17, 1862, Antietam, Md. 

Michael Welsh, private, age twenty-four, Company 
B, Sixty-first Infantry, Massachusetts Volunteers, one 
year's service; mustered in Sept. i, 1864; discharged 
June 4, 1865, expiration of service. 

Ithamar Whiting, private, age twenty-four, Company 
E, Fifth Infantry, Massachusetts Volunteers, one hun- 
dred days' service; mustered in July 22, 1864; dis- 
charged Nov. 16, 1864, expiration of service. 

William Whiting, private, age thirty-four, Company 
B, Forty-second Infantry, Massachusetts Volunteers, 
nine months' service; mustered in Sept. 22, 1862 ; dis- 
charged Aug. 20, 1863, expiration of service. 

John F. Williams, private, age twenty-one, was a sub- 
stitute ; enlisted July 31, 1863, unassigned. 

George H. Wise, private, age twenty-one, Company 
A, Twenty-ninth Massachusetts Volunteers, three years' 
service; enlisted May 9, 1861 ; transferred to Company 
I, Thirty-sixth Massachusetts Volunteers ; mustered out 
Aug. 15, 1864. 

Albert A. Woods, private, age twenty-one. Company 
K, Third Cavalry, Massachusetts Volunteers, three 
years' service ; mustered in Aug. 6, 1 862 ; died March 
21, 1863, New Orleans, La. ; wrongly credited to Need- 
ham, Mass. 

NAVY. 

Joseph Boy, age thirty-one, private ; enlisted April 
16, 1864, Second Cavalry, Massachusetts Volunteers, 
three years' service; transferred to the navy. May 17, 
1864, for two years; served one day. United States ship 



THE CIVIL WAR 321 

"Ohio"; served on the "Sabine," and was discharged 
Jan. 31, 1866. He is wrongly credited to New Marl- 
boro, Mass. 

William Feicht, age twenty-two, cook ; enlisted June 
25, 1 861, two years' service; served on the United 
States ships "Ohio" and "Susquehanna"; discharged 
Aug. 23, 1 86 1. 

Erastus L. Fenner enlisted March 9, 1863, one 
year's service ; served in the United States ship " Ber- 
muda" ; deserted at Philadelphia, July 25, 1863. 

John F. Frost, age twenty-nine, blacksmith ; enlisted 
Aug. 8, 1864, three years' service; served on United 
States ships "Ohio," "Brooklyn," "John Adams," and 
"Columbia"; discharged June 3, 1865. 

Joseph R. Foss, age twenty-one, blacksmith ; enlisted 
June 24, 1 86 1, two years' service; served on the 
United States ships " Ohio," " North Carolina," " Pensa- 
cola," and "Thomas Freeborn"; deserted Jan. 2, 1863. 

Henry Gilbert, age twenty-three, enlisted Dec. 21, 
1864, as a substitute for George D. Everett ; served in 
United States ship "J. P. Jackson"; deserted March 
12, 1865. 

Willard J. Hotchkiss, age twenty-nine, enlisted Aug. 
8, 1864, one year's service; served in the United States 
ships " Dunbarton " and " Lodona " ; discharged June 
II, 1865, from the "Princeton." 

Robert Mitchell, age twenty-nine, enlisted Aug. 8, 
1 864, one year's service ; served on the United States 
ships " Ohio " and " Brooklyn " ; took part three days 
at the capture of Fort Fisher, Jan. 13-15, 1865; dis- 
charged June 17, 1865, from the "Princeton." 

Coleman Scofield, age twenty-nine, enlisted Oct. 13, 



32 2 HISTORY OF DOVER 

1862, two years' service; served on the United States 
ships "Ohio," " Colorado," " Calhoun," and "New Lon- 
don" ; discharged Feb. 27, 1865. 

Lewellen Smitherest, age sixteen, enlisted Oct. 16, 
1862, one year's service; served in United States ships 
" Ohio," " Colorado," and " Lafayette " ; deserted Feb. 
20, 1863. 

Alfred A. Stinson, age nineteen, enlisted Oct. 13, 
1 862, one year's service ; served on United States ships 
"Ohio," "Colorado," and "Lafayette"; discharged 
Feb. 14, 1863. 

William Taylor, age eighteen, enlisted Oct. 22, 1862, 
two years' service ; served on United States ships 
" Ohio," " Colorado," and " Benton " ; discharged Oct. 
30, 1864. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

NATURAL HISTORY. 

Geology — Mineralogy — Flora — Weeds — Sylva — Shrubs 
AND Vines — Ferns — • Fauna — Birds. 

The blooms of home and native air 
Are ever dearest to us all. 

— L. D. Smith. 

Oh, loveliest there the spring days come, 
With blossoms, and birds, and wild bees' hum; 
The flowers of summer are fairest there. 
And freshest the breath of the summer air. 

— Bryant. 

The world is too much with us. Late and soon 
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers ; 
Little we see in Nature that is ours. 

— Wordsworth. 

GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY. 

Gazing upon our hills, valleys, and fertile fields, we sel- 
dom realize the fact that the soil which covers them was 
formed from the decomposition of rocks and the action 
of organic agencies upon these decomposed particles. 

Geological formation and environment are said largely 
to determine plant-distribution. 

To this cause may be traced the full and exceed- 
ingly rich flora of the town. A collection of rocks and 
minerals has been made, covering the entire territory of 
the township ; and an analysis of the specimens gives 
the following results : ■ — ■ 

Rocks. — Granite, felsite, diorite, diabase, sandstone. 

Minerals. — Pyrites, quartz, porphyry, iron. 



324 HISTORY OF DOVER 

Granite. The fine-textured part is the ordinary rock ; 
while the coarse is the granite dike, having the minerals 
deposited from solution. Composition : feldspar, quartz, 
and mica. 

Granite with red orthoclase and chlorite. 

Felsite, worn by water. Contains orthoclase, feld- 
spar, and quartz. 

Felsite, red variety. 

Chalcopyrite. Contains copper, iron, and sulphur. 

Quartz, worn by abrasion. 

Ferruginous quartz, oxide of silicon with iron. 

Quartz crystals upon trap rock. 

Wad, or earthy manganese, upon quartz ; oxide of 
manganese. 

Quartz, massive variety ; pure oxide of silicon. 

Smoky quartz. 

Diorite, fine-grained. 

Diorite, coarser variety (hornblende and feldspar). 

Porphyry. 

Diabase (feldspar and pyroxene). 

Sandstone (ferruginous sand). 

Quartzite. 

Silicate of alumina with an alkali metal. 

FLORA.' 

Amaryllis Family. — Yellow Star-grass, Hypoxis 
ere eta. 

Arum Family. — Jack-in-the-pulpit, AriscBina triphyl- 
lum ; Wild Calla, Calla palustris ; Skunk Cabbage, 

' No attempt has been made to give a complete flora of Dover. Few rare flowers 
have been given : nearly all can be readily found. Mr. T. Otis Fuller, of Needham, 
who is familiar with the flora of the town, is of the opinion that a list of a thousand 
flowers could easily be made during the succession of a single season. 



NATURAL HISTORY 325 

Syviplocarpus fcetidus ; Arrow arum, Peltandra Vir- 
ginica ; Sweet Flag, Acorus Calamus. 

Balsam Family. — Jewel-weed, Impatiens fnha. 

Barberry Family. — Barberry, Bei-beris vulgaris. 

Borage Family. — Forget-me-not. 

Broom-rape Family. — One-flowered Cancer-root, 
ApJiyllon nniflornm. 

Buckthorn Family. — New Jersey Tea, Ccaiioihus 
Americaiuis ; Buckthorn, R/iaimtus catharticus. 

Composite Family. — Purple Asters, Aster; Black- 
eyed Susan, Rndbeckia Jiirta ; Climbing Boneset, Enpa- 
toriiun perfoliatnvi ; Dandelion, Taraxaatin officinale ; 
Elecampane, Inula Helcniuvi ; Fall Dandelion, Leonto- 
don auticmnale ; Golden Ragwort, Senecio aureus ; Iron- 
weed, Vernoiiia Noveboracensis ; Joe-pye-weed, Eupa- 
toriuni purpureum ; Life Everlasting, Guaphalium 

polyccphaltun ; Ox-eyed Daisy, ClirysantJu ,1 Icucan- 

theniuin ; Y 2irrovj, Achillea Millefolium ; White Asters, 
Aster; Thorough wort, Eupatorium perfoliatnvi ; Squaw- 
weed, Senecio aureus ; Robin's Plantain, Erigeron bel- 
lidifoliuni ; Sunflower, HeliantJius annntis ; Thistle, 
Cnicns sp. ; Tansy, Tanacetuni vulgare ; Plantain-leaved 
Everlasting, Antennaria plantaginifolia. 

Convolvulus Family. — Dodder, Cuscjtta Gronovii ; 
Wild Morning Glory, Convolvulus Americanus ; Bracted 
Bindweed, Calystegia sepiuin. 

Crowfoot Family. — Goldthread, Coptis trifolia ; 
Marsh Marigold (Cowslip), Caltha palustris ; Anemone, 
Anemone ncmorosa ; Traveller's Joy ; Columbine, Aqiii- 
legia Canadensis ; Early Crowfoot, Ranunculus fascicu- 
laris ; Meadow Rue, Thalictrum Cornuti ; Thimble- 
weed ; Rue Anemone, Ancmonella tJuxlictroidcs ; Clem- 



326 HISTORY OF DOVER 

atis, Clematis Virginiaiia ; Buttercup, Ranunculus acris ; 
White Water Crowfoot, Ranunculus aquatilis ; Yellow 
Water Crowfoot, Ranunculus inultifidus ; Hepatica, He- 
patica triloba ; Tall Anemone, Anemone Vifginiana. 
Dogbane Family. — Dogbane, Apocynum cannabi- 

7iUm. 

Dogwood Family. — Dwarf Cornel, Cornus Canaden- 
sis ; Flowering Dogwood, Cornus jlorida. 

Evening Primrose Family. — Evening Primrose, 
CEjiotJiera biennis ; Fireweed, Epilobiu^n angustifolium ; 
Enchanter's Nightshade, Circcsa Lutetiana. 

FiGWORT Family. — Butter-and-eggs, Linaria vulga- 
ris ; Cow-wheat, Melampyrum Aviericanum ; Mullein, 
Verbasctir/i TJiapsus ; Turtle-head, Chelone glabra ; 
Wood Betony, Pedicularis Canadensis ; Gerardia, Ge- 
rardia purpurea ; Downy Foxglove, Gerardia jlava ; 
Smooth Foxglove, Gerardia quercifolia ; Toadflax, Li- 
naria Canadensis ; Monkey-flower, Mimulus ringens. 

Fumitory Family. — Corydalis, Corydalis glauca ; 
Squirrel Corn, Dicentra Canadensis; Dutchman's 
Breeches, Dicentra Cucullaria ; Climbing Fumitory, 
Adlumia cirrhosa. 

Geranium Family. — Cranesbill, Geranium macula- 
turn ; Herb-robert, Geranium Robertianum. 

Gentian Family. — Gentian, Gentiana crinita ; Float- 
ing Heart, Limnanthemum lacunosum. 

Ginseng Family. — Ginseng (Dwarf), Aralia tri- 
folia ; Greenbrier, Smilax rotundifolia ; Wild sarsa- 
parilla, Aralia nudica^ilis. 

Heath Family. — Leather-leaf, Cassandra ealycu- 
lata ; Checkerberry, Gaultheria procumbens ; Indian 
Pipe, Monotropa uniflora ; Shin-leaf, Pyrola rotrmdifolia; 



N'ATURAL HISTORY 327 

Prince's Pine, ChimapJiila innbcllata ; Sweet-pepper- 
bush, Clethra alnifolia ; Pine Sap, Mouotropa Hypopitys ; 
Rhodora, RJiododendron Canadensis ; Spotted Pipsissewa, 
Chimaphila maailata ; Clammy Azalea, Azalea viscosa ; 
Mountain Laurel, Kahnia latifolia ; Sheep Laurel, Kal- 
mia angustifolia ; Cranberry, Vaccinium macrocarpon ; 
Blueberry, Vaccinium Pennsylvanicum ; Swamp Blue- 
berry, Vaccinium corymbosum ; Huckleberry, Gaylussa- 
cia resinosa. 

Honeysuckle Family. — Fly-honeysuckle, Lonicera 
ciliata. 

Horsetail Family. — Scouring Rush, Eqitisetum. 

Iris Family. — Blue-eyed Grass, SisyrincJiium angus- 
tifolium ; Fleur-de-lis ; Sweet Flag ; Blue Flag, Iris 
Virginica. 

Laurel Family. — Fever-bush, Lindera Benzoin ; 
Spice-bush, Lindera odorifejimi ; Sassafras, Sassafras 
officinale. 

Lily Family. — Adder's Tongue, Erythronijivi 
Americanum ; Bell wort, Uvularia perfoliata ; False 
Solomon's Seal, Maianthemum Canadensis ; False Hel- 
lebore, Veratriim viride ; Dog's-tooth Violet, Erythro- 
nimn Americanum ; Star of Bethlehem, Ornithogahmi 
umbellatu7}i ; Bellwort, Uvularia sessilifolia ; Solomon's 
Seal, Polygonatum biflorum ; Wild Red Lily, Lilium 
PJiiladelpJdcum ; Canada Lily, Lilium Canadense ; 
Clintonia borealis. 

Loosestrife Family. — Purple Loosestrife, LytJirtim 
Salicaria. 

Lobelia Family. — Cardinal-flower, Lobelia cardi- 
nalis. 

Mallow Family. — Mallow, Hibiscus MoscJieutos ; 



328 HISTORY OF DOVER 

Swamp Rose Mallow, Hibiscus MoscJiciitos ; Common 
Mallow, Malva rotwidifolia. 

Madder Family. — Button-bush, CephalajitJins occi- 
dentalis ; Bedstraw, Galium borealc ; Partridge-berry, 
Mitchella repcns ; Yellow Bedstraw, Galium verum ; 
Houstonia. 

Melastoma Family. — Meadow-beauty, RJicxia Vir- 
ginica. 

Milkwort Family.- — Fringed Polygala, Polygala 
paucifolia ; Moss Polygala, Polygala cruciata ; Polygala 
polygama ; Polygala sanguinea. 

Mint Family. — Blue Curls, Trichostema dichoto- 
nium ; Self-heal, Brunella vulgaris ; Ground Ivy, 
Ncpeta GlecJioma ; Motherwort, Leouurus Cardiaca ; 
Spearmint, Mentha viridis ; Peppermint, MentJia pipe- 
rita ; Catnip, Nepeta Cataria ; Pennyroyal, Hcdeoma 
pulegioides ; Hedge-nettle, StacJiys palustris. 

Milkweed Family.— Butterfly-weed, Asclepias tube- 
rasa ; Common Milkweed, Asclepias Cornuti ; Swamp 
Milkweed, Asclepias incarnata ; Whorled Milkweed, 
Asclepias vcrticillata ; Four-leaved Milkweed, Asclepias 
quadrifolia. 

Mustard Family. — Shepherd's Purse, Capsella 
Bursa-pastoris ; Winter-cress, Barbarea vulgaris ; Wild 
Radish, Raphanus Raphanistrum ; Water-cress, Nastur- 
tium officinale. 

Nightshade Family. — Nightshade, Solatium Dul- 
camara ; Thorn-apple, Datura Stramonium. 

Orchis Family. — Arethusa, Aretliusa bulbosa; 
Adder's Mouth, Pogonia ophioglossoides ; Coral-root, 
Corallorhi.'^a multiflora ; Ladies' Tresses, Spiranthes 
cernua ; Moccason Flower, Cypripedium acaule ; Rag- 



NATURAL HISTORY 329 

ged Fringed Orchis, Habenaria lacera ; Rattlesnake- 
plantain, Goodyera ptibesccns ; Yellow Lady's Slipper, 
Cypripediiim piibcsceiis ; Calopogon, Calopogon pidchel- 
lus ; Ladies' Tresses, SpirantJies gracilis. 

OxALis Family.— Wood Sorrel, Oxalis Acetosella. 

Parnassia Family. — Grass of Parnassus, Parnassia 
Caroliniana. 

Parsley Family. — Wild Carrot, Dancus Carota ; 
Wild Parsnip, Zi::jia aurea. 

Pink Family. — Bouncing Bet, Sapoiim'ia officinalis ; 
Bladder Campion, Silene inflata ; Wild Pink, Silene 
Pcnnsylvaiiica ; Agrostevivia GitJiago. 

Pitcher-plant Family. — Pitcher-plant, Sarracenia 
purpurea. 

Poppy Family. — Blood-root, Sangiiinaria Cana- 
densis. 

PoKEWEED Family. — Pokeweed, Phytolacca de- 
candra. 

Primrose Family. — Yellow Loosestrife, LysiviacJiia 
qiiadrifolia ; Star-flower, Trientalis A^nericana ; Loose- 
strife, LysiviacJiia ciliata. 

Pulse Family. — Bush Clover, Lespedeza. hirta ; Hog 
Peanut, AmpJiicarp<za monoica ; Wild Lupine, Lupinns 
perennis ; White Clover, Melilotus alba; Yellow Clo- 
ver, Trifolium agraritim ; Wild Indigo, Baptisia tinc- 
toria ; Blue Vetch, Vicia Cracca ; Ground-nut, Apios 
tuberosa ; Rabbit-foot Clover, Trifolium arvense ; Red 
Clover, Trifolium pratcnse ; Tephrosia, TepJirosia Vir- 
giniana ; Yellowbush Clover, Lespede::a violacea ; 
Locust, Robinia pseudacacia ; Everlasting Pea ; Rose 
Acacia, Robinia Jiispida ; Partridge Pea, Cassia CJiamcB- 
crista. 



33 o HISTORY OF DOVER 

Purslane Family. — Common Purslane, Porttilaca 
oleracea. 

Rose Family. — Agrimony ; Cinquefoil, Potentilla 
Canadensis ; Meadow-sweet, Spircea salicifolia ; White- 
thorn, CratcEgns OxyacantJia ; Purple Avens, Genm 
album ; Hardhack, Spiraa tomentosa ; Marsh Five- 
finger, Potentilla pahistris ; Wild Rose, Rosa blanda ; 
Sweet Brier, Rosa j'ubiginosa ; Shadbush, Anielanchier 
Canadensis ; Chokeberry, Pynis arbntifolia ; High 
Blackberry, Rnbus villosns ; Dewberry, Rubtis Canaden- 
sis ; Wild Red Raspberry, Riibiis strigosiis ; Thimble- 
berry, Rubns occidentalis ; Strawberry, Fragaria vesca ; 
Wild Black Cherry, Primus serotina ; Choke Cherry, 
Prnmis Virginiana. 

Sandalwood Family. — Bastard Toad-flax, Co- 
niandra. 

Saxifrage Family. — Saxifrage, Saxifraga Virgini- 
ensis ; Swamp Saxifrage, Saxifraga Pennsylvanica. 

Staff-tree Family. — Bitter-sweet, Celastrns scan- 
dens. 

St. John's-wort Family. — Marsh St. John's-wort, 
Elodes Virginica ; St. John's-wort, Hypericum perfora- 
tum. 

Sundew Family. — Sundew, Drosera rotundifolia. 

Trillium Family. — Indian Cucumber-root, Medeola 
Virginica; Nodding Trillium (Wake Robin), Trillium 
cernuum . 

Vervain Family. — Blue Vervain, Verbena hastata. 

Vine Family. — Woodbine, Ampelopsis qtdnquefolia ; 
Wild Grape, Vitis Labrusca. 

Violet Family. — Blue Violet, Viola palmata ; Yel- 
low Violet, Viola pubesceris ; White Violet, Viola 



NATURAL HISTORY 331 

blanda ; Birdfoot \^iolet, Viola pcdata ; Arrow-leaved 
Violet, Viola saggitata ; Common Blue Violet, Viola 
aiciillata. 

Water-plAx\taix Family. — Arrow-head, Sagittaria 
variabilis. 

Water-lily Family. — White Water Lily, Nymphoea 
odorata ; Yellow Pond Lily, N'liphar advena. 

WEEDS. 

" More in the garden grows 
Than the gardener knows." 

Professor Bailey, of Brown University, says there, is 

no intrinsic difference between a weed and any other 

plant. 

" A weed is naught but a flower in disguise, 
Which is seen through at once if love gives a man eyes." 

A weed is well defined as a plant which persists in 
growing where it is not wanted. 

The term "weed" has for an agriculturist a perfectly 
definite meaning. It means that the special plant to 
which the name may be applied springs up and thrives 
to the exclusion of better things. It is a curious fact 
that most of our weeds have a European origin. In- 
deed, many of them grow here more vigorously than 
in the Old World, their native home. This list includes 
only common weeds. 

Pig-weed, Amaranthis, Purslane, Chickweed, White- 
weed, Cone Flower, Chiccory, Butter-and-eggs, Cockle- 
bur, Cotton-thistle, Burdock, Plantains, Wild Carrot, 
Canada-thistle, Dandelion, Caraway, Knot-weed, Milk- 
weed, Wild Parsnip, Wormwood, Wild Turnip, Garget, 
Pennyroyal, Pickerel-weed, Sorrel, Yarrow. 



SS^ HISTORY OF DOVER 

SYLVA. 

American Linden, Rasswood, Tilia Americana, L. 

Common, or Smooth, Sumach, RJins glabra, L. 

Copal, or Dwarf, Sumach, Rhus copallina, L. 

Poison Sumach, Poison Dogwood, RJius venenata^ 
D.C. 

Sugar Maple, Rock Maple, Acer saccJiarinuni, Wang. 

Red, or Swamp, Maple, Acer rubnun, L. 

Silver-leaf Maple, Acer dasycarpiDn, Ehrh. 

Wild Red Cherry, Primus Pciinsylvanica, L. 

Choke Cherry, Pninus Virginiana, L. 

Wild Black Cherry, Pniiins serotina, Ehrh. 

Witch-hazel, Hamanielis Virginiana, L. 

Flowering Dogwood, or Cornel, Cornus florida, L. 

Black Alder, Winterberry, Ilex verticillata, Gray. 

White Ash, Fraxinns Americana, L. 

Sassafras,' Sassafras officinale, Nees. 

American Elm, Ulmns Americana, L. 

Plane-tree, Buttonwood, Sycamore, Platanns occiden- 
talis, L. 

ViMW-Q-wwA., Jiiglans einerea, L. 

Shagbark, Shellbark Hickory, Carya alba, Nutt. 

Pig-nut or Broom Hickory, Carya porcina, Nutt. 

White Oak, Onerciis alba. 

Swamp White Oak, Quercns bicolor, Willd. 

Scrub Oak, Quercns ilicifolia, Wang. 

Scarlet Oak, Quercns coccinea, Wang. 

Chestnut, Castanca sativa. Mill. ; var. Americaiia, 
Michx. 

Beech, Fagns fcrrnginea. Ait. 

' A grove of sassafras-trees is found on the farm of J. S. Carey, the largest of which 
measures six and one-half feet in circumference. 



NATURAL HISTORY 333 

Hazel-nut, Filbert, Cory lies Americana, Nutt. 
Hop Hornbeam, Ironwood, Ostrya Virginiana, Willd. 
Hornbeam, Ironwood, Blue or Water Beech, Carpimis 
Ca7-oliniana, Walter. 

Cherry Birch, Sweet or Black Birch, Betiila Icnta, L. 
American White Birch, Gray Birch, BeUila popiili- 
folia, Ait. 

Smooth Alder, Alnns serrnlata, Willd. 

White Poplar, Popiibis alba, L. 

White Pine, Finns Strobns, L. 

Pitch Yiwe.,' Finns rigida. Miller. 

Hemlock, Tsnga Canadensis, Carr. 

Red Cedar, S2i\\n, Jnniperns Virginiana, L. 

Creeping ]y\\~\v^Q.x, Jnniperns Sabina, L. 

Hackmatack, Larix Aniericajia. 

Balm of Gilead, Fopnlns candicans. 

Thorn, Cj'atcBgns tomentosa. 

SHRUBS AND VINES. 

Hardback and Meadow Sweet, Spireea tomentosa and 
salicifolia. 

High and Low Blackberry, Rnhns villosus and Cana- 
densis. 

Raspberry, Rnbns strigosns and occideiitalis. 

The Sheep Laurel, Kabnia latifolia and angnstifolia. 

Azalea viscosa. 

Blueberry, Vaccininm Fennsylvanicnm. 

Huckleberry, Gayhissacia frondosa and resinosa. 

Cranberry, Vaccininm macrocarpon. 

Sweet Fern, Comptonia asple7iifolia. 

Sweetsrale, AntJioxantJinm odoratnm. 



334 HISTORY OF DOVER 

Elder, Sambiiciis Canadensis 2>.n(^ picbens. 

Barberry, Be7'beris vulgaris. 

Lilac, Syringa vulgaris, pale violet and white. 

Gooseberry, Ribcs Grossiilaria and Jiirtelhtm. 

Rose, Rosa, including exotics, many species. 

Grape-vines, Vitis, wild and cultivated. 

Woodbine or Virginia Creeper, Ampclopsis qjiinque- 
folia. 

Bush Honeysuckle, Diervilla trifida. 

Bittersweet, Celastnis scandens, and others are native 
here. 

Greenbrier, Sniilax rotundifolia. 

Bay-berry. 

Partridge-vine. 

Clematis. 

Nature's Wax-work. 

Viburnum, Viburnum sp. 

FERNS. 

Polypodium vjilgare, L., Common Polypody. 
Adiantum pedatuvi, L., Maiden-hair. 
Pteris aquilina, L., Brake or Bracken. 
Woodzvaj'dia Virginica, Smith, Chain-fern. 
Aspleniuni TricJi07nanes, L. 
Aspleniuvi ebenejun. Ait., Ebony-fern. 
Aspleniuni tJielypteroides, Michx. 
Aspleniuni Filix-fcemina, Bernh., Lady-fern. 
Phegopteris Jiexagonoptera, F6e, Beech-fern. 
Phegopteris Dryopteris, Fee, Ternate Beech-fern. 
Aspidium Thelypteris, Svvartz, Shield-fern. 
Aspidium Noveboracense, Swartz. 



NATURAL HISTORY 335 

Aspidium siimilatnm. 

Aspidium spiniilosjim, var. i^itcnnedhnn, Eaton. 

Aspidium Boottii, Tuckerman. 

Aspiditivi cristatujH, Swartz. 

Aspidium marginale, Swartz. 

Aspidimn acrosticJioidcs, Christmas-fern. 

Cystopteris fragilis, Bernh., Bladder-fern. 

Onoclea sensibilis, L., Sensitive-fern. 

Woodsia Ilvensis, R. Brown. 

Woodsia obtiisa, Torr. 
Dicksonia pilosinsai,la, Willd. 
Lygodiimi palniatiini, Swartz, Climbing Fern. 
Osmtmda regalis, L., Flowering Fern. 
Osmunda Claytoniana^ L. , Interrupted Osmunda. 
Os7minda ci?tiiamoinea, L., Cinnamon-fern. 
BotrycJmini ternatmn var. obliq^tiini. 
Botrychi7i7n tej'natnvi var. dissectum. 
BotrycJiinvi Virginianjim, Swartz. 
Ophioglosstim vulgatimi, L. 



FAUNA. 

Common animals abound, as the woodchuck, skunk, 
chipmunk, red squirrel, gray squirrel, flying squirrel, 
raccoon, rabbit, weasel, muskrat, fox, mink, and otters 
are occasionally taken. Among reptiles may be men- 
tioned several kinds of tortoises and snakes, including 
the rattlesnake, which is found in the vicinity of Rocky 
Woods. The amphibians are represented by several 
varieties of frogs, toads, and salamanders. Trout, 
pickerel, perch, eels, hornpouts, and other fishes inhabit 
the stream. And spiders and insects are found in 
great number and variety. 



336 HISTORY OF DOVER 

BIRDS.' 

The following list of birds is not designed to be a 
contribution to ornithology, but to present in brief 
form as correct and complete an enumeration of the 
bird-fauna of Dover as it is practicable to procure at 
the present time, and thereby stimulate observation. 
It is the result of personal observations made during 
many years, partly in Dover, but more largely in those 
portions of Sherborn, Natick, and Wellesley imme- 
diately adjoining, and, in addition, of verbal notes 
communicated by other persons living in the vicinity. 
Owing to the lack of resident observers a list of local 
records would of necessity be so meagre as to be of 
little use, and would give an erroneous impression of 
the fauna. Persons desirous of obtaining fuller in- 
formation on this subject should consult the "Anno- 
tated List of Birds of Wellesley and Vicinity," 
published by the author of the present list. 

All of the species enumerated have been noted within 
a short distance, nearly all within a mile, of the town 
boundaries, and most of them in the town itself. Addi- 
tional species, chiefly of the water-birds and shore-birds, 
doubtless occur from time to time, records of which in 
the immediate vicinity I have been unable to secure. 

The economic importance of birds is often overlooked 
even by those who are most benefited. They are one 
of nature's most efficient means for keeping in check 
the myriads of injurious insects with which the agri- 
culturist has to contend. As a class, even the pre- 
daceous birds — the hawks and owls — do vastly more 

' Contributed by Albert Pitts Morse, curator of the Zoological Museum, Wellesley 
College. 



NATURAL HISTORY 337 

good than harm, destroying multitudes of field-mice and 
other small rodents of the farm, though individuals often 
merit and receive condemnation and punishment at the 
hands of the irate poultry-raiser. 

In addition to their economic importance the birds 
appeal most forcibly to our aesthetic sense. The wooing 
and mating, and building of the nest, the eggs - — dumb 
miracles of life, the rearing of the brood, the instinct 
that draws them irresistibly to dare the perils of the un- 
known in extended journeys at the appointed time, — 
these have appealed to the sympathies of mankind since 
the remotest ages. In their cries find expression all 
the gladsomeness of day and the weirdness of night, the 
freedom of the plain and the mystery of the forest, 
the hopefulness of dawn, the serenity and trust of 
evening, the yearning of spring and the melancholy of 
autumn. In their silence is death. 



Holboell's Grebe, Red-necked Grebe, Colyiiibus Jiol- 
bcellii.' Occasional on river ; migrant. 

Horned Grebe, " Crested Grebe," Colymbus anritiis. 
Occasional on river ; migrant. 

Pied-billed Grebe, " Dipper," Podilymbus podiccps. 
Common on river in fall. 

Loon, Urinator iniber. Frequently seen on neighbor- 
ing ponds in fall and spring. 

Dovekie, " Little Auk," AUe alle. A number were 
seen after a severe storm a score of years ago. 

American Herring Gull, Lams ai'gentatiis smith- 

' The terminology and sequence of species is that adopted by the American Orni- 
thologists" Union. 



338 HISTORY OF DOVER 

sonianiis. A large gull, probably of this species, was 
found dead in the west part some years ago. 

Bonaparte's Gull, Lams pJiiladclpJiia. Has been 
taken on neighboring ponds. 

Tern, Sterna sp. (.^) Examples are occasionally seen 
about neighboring lakes after hard storms. 

Greater Shearwater, Piiffimis gravis. A specimen 
was taken on the Cheney estate several years ago. 

American Merganser, " Sheldrake," Merganser avicri- 
canus. Occasional on river and common on neighboring 
ponds in spring. 

Hooded Merganser, LopJiodytcs cuciillatiis. Scarce. 
Has been taken on the river in spring. 

Mallard, Anas boschas. Has been taken in former 
years, now rare. 

Black Duck, Anas obscjira. Common in fall. A few 
breed. 

Baldpate, Anas anicricana. Has been taken on 
neighboring ponds. 

Green-winged Teal, Anas carolincnsis. Formerly 
common on the river in fall, but now scarce. 

Blue-winged Teal, Anas discojs. Scarce, formerly 
not uncommon. 

Wood Duck, Aix sponsa. Common. Summer resi- 
dent. Most numerous in August and September. 

Lesser Scaup Duck, Little Blackhead, AytJiya affinis. 
Occasional on neighboring ponds. 

Ring-necked Duck, Aytliya collaris. Occasional on 
neighboring ponds. 

Golden-eye, " Whistlewing," CIa)igula clangnla anicri- 
cana. Common in spring on neighboring ponds. 
Sometimes seen on the river. 



NATURAL HISTORY 339 

Buffle-head, CJiaritonetta albeola. Occasional on 
neighboring ponds. Migrant. 

American Scoter, OidcDiia americana. Occasional 
on neighboring ponds. Migrant. 

Surf Scoter, Oidcniia perspicillata. Occasional on 
neighboring ponds. Migrant. 

Ruddy Duck, Erisvwtnra jamaiccnsis. Not uncom- 
mon in fall. 

Canada Goose, Wild Goose, Branta canadcjisis. Usu- 
ally seen in numbers when migrating. Occasionally a 
flock alights in the river or neighboring lakes. 

Bittern, " Stake-driver," Botaiims lentiginosiis. A 
not uncommon summer resident. 

Great Blue Heron, Ardea Jierodias. Common along 
the river in spring and late summer. 

American Egret, White Heron, Ardea cgretta. Mr. 
A. L. Babcock, of Sherborn, states that a specimen of 
this species was killed by Mr. Abram Bigelow on the 
river some years ago. 

Green Heron, Ai'dea vircsccns. Common along the 
river in summer. 

Black-crowned Night Heron, Nycticorax nycticorax 
iiLEviiis. Frequently seen in spring and summer. 

Virginia Rail, Rallns virginia)uis. Not uncommon. 
Summer resident, but seldom seen until fall. 

Sora, Carolina Rail, "Meadow Hen," Porzana Caro- 
lina. Common summer resident. Most often seen in 
September. 

Florida Gallinule, Gallimila galeata. Rare. 

American Coot, Fiilica americana. Not uncommon 
in fall. 

American Woodcock, PhiloJiela viinor. Migrant. 
Common in flights. A few breed. 



340 HISTORY OF DOVER 

Wilson's Snipe, Gallinago delicata. Locally common 
in spring and fall. 

Dowitcher, Red-breasted Snipe, MacrorhampJms 
orriseiis. Occasional. 

o 

Least Sandpiper, Tringa minittilla. Occasional. 

Greater Yellowlegs, Totaniis inelajioleticus. Occa- 
sional. 

Yellowlegs, Tot anus flavipes. Occasional after 
storms in summer. 

Solitary Sandpiper, Totajiiis solitariits. Common in 
midsummer along the river. 

Spotted Sandpiper, " Teeter-tail," Actitis uiacularia. 
Common summer resident. 

Killdeer, yEgialitis vocifera. Rare. Has 'been seen 
in former years. 

Bob-white, Quail, Colintis virgiiiicDuis. Common 
resident. 

Ruffed Grouse, " Partridge," Bonasa Jiinbelbis. Com- 
mon resident. 

Passenger Pigeon, Ectopistes migratorijis. Very rare. 
Formerly common summer resident. 

Mourning Dove, Zenaidura macroiira. A not uncom- 
mon summer resident. 

Marsh Hawk, Circus hudsonius. Summer resident. 
Rather common, especially in spring and fall. 

Sharp-shinned Hawk, "Chicken Hawk," Accipiter 
velox. Common summer resident. Very troublesome 
to young poultry. 

Cooper's Hawk, Accipiter cooperii. Occasionally met 
with. Breeds. 

American Goshawk, Accipiter atricapillus. Rarely 
seen, in fall and winter. 



NATURAL HISTORY 341 

Red-tailed Hawk, " Hen-hawk," Butco borealis. Not 
uncommon. , Breeds. 

Red-shouldered Hawk, " Hen-hawk," Buteo lineatiis. 
Not uncommon. Breeds. 

Bald Eagle, Haliaetiis lencoccpJialns. \^ery rare. 
One specimen shot and another seen, at South Sher- 
born, some years ago. 

Pigeon Hawk, Falco columbarins. Scarce. 

American Sparrow Hawk, Falco spai'vcruis. Occa- 
sionally seen. 

American Osprey, Fish Hawk, Pandion Jialiactus 
caroli)iensis. Frequently seen along the river. 

American Barn Owl, Strix pTatincola. Accidental. 
One specimen taken several years ago and now in 
museum of Wellesley College. 

American Long-eared Owl, Asio unlsonianns. Not 
uncommon. Resident. 

Short-eared Owl, Asio accipitrimis. Rather rare. 

Barred Owl, Syrniiivi iiebulosuni. Scarce, but occa- 
sionally seen in fall. 

Saw-whet Owl, Nyctala acadica. Not common. Resi- 
dent, or winter visitor. 

Screech Owl, Megascops asio. Common resident. 

Great Horned Owl, Bubo virginianns. Frequently 
taken. Resident. 

Snowy Owl, Nyctca nyctea. Rarely seen, in fall or 
winter. 

American Hawk Owl, Sjtrnia 7ilnla caparocJi. Very 
rare, but has been taken in this vicinity. 

Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Coccy:ziis americamis. Com- 
mon summer resident. 

Black-billed Cuckoo, Coccy Z7is erytJiropJitJialmus. 
Common summer resident. 



342 HISTORY OF DOVER 

Belted Kingfisher, Ceryle alcyon. Not uncommon 
summer resident. 

Hairy Woodpecker, Dry abates villosns. Not uncom- 
mon visitor in fall and winter. 

Downy Woodpecker, Dryobates piibcsccns mediamis. 
Common resident. 

Arctic Three-toed Woodpecker, Picoides arcticns. 
Very rare. 

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Sphyrapiciis varius. Fre- 
quently seen in migrations. 

Red-headed Woodpecker, Melanerpes eryt/uvcephalus. 
Irregular visitor. Sometimes not rare in fall. 

Flicker, Golden-winged Woodpecker, Colaptes aiiratiis. 
Common summer resident. A few pass the winter. 

Whip-poor-will, Antrostovius vociferns. Common 
summer resident. 

Nighthawk, CJiordeiles virginimms. Not uncommon. 
Summer resident. 

Chimney Swift, Ch(Etura pelagica. Abundant sum- 
mer resident. 

Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Trochilus colubris. 
Common summer resident. 

Kingbird, Tyrannus tyraiinus. Very common sum- 
mer resident. 

Crested Flycatcher, Myiarchiis crinitiis. Scarce and 
somewhat local summer resident. 

Phoebe, Pewee, Sayoniis phcebe. Common summer 
resident. 

Olive-sided Flycatcher, Contopus borealis. Formerly 
rather common, now rare. 

Wood Pewee, Contopus virens. Common summer 
resident. 



NATURAL HISTORY 343 

Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Empidonax flavivcntris. 
Not uncommon migrant. 

Least Flycatcher, "Chebec," Empidonax minimus. 
Very common summer resident. 

Horned Lark, Otocoris alpestris. Rarely seen in 
spring and fall. 

Blue Jay, Cyanocitta cristata. Abundant resident. 

American Crow, Corvus americanus. Common 
resident. 

Bobolink, DolicJionyx oryzivorus. Common summer 
resident. 

Cowbird, Molot/irus atcr. Common summer resident. 

Red-winged Blackbird, Agclaiiis pJuvnicens. Abun- 
dant summer resident. 

Meadowlark, Stnrnclla magna. Common summer 
resident. 

Orchard Oriole, Icterus spavins. Rare summer resi- 
dent. 

Baltimore Oriole, Icterus galbula. Common summer 
resident. 

Rusty Blackbird, ScolecopJiagus carolinus. Common 
migrant, especially numerous in fall. 

Bronzed Grackle, Crow Blackbird, Qniscahts quiscula 
(Eneus. Common. A few breed. Often appears in 
very large flocks in fall. 

Evening Grosbeak, Coccotkraustes vespertinus. Sev- 
eral specimens were taken just across the river in South 
Natick and Wellesley early in 1890, during an incur- 
sion of this species from the West. 

Pine Grosbeak, Pinicola cnucleator. Irregular winter 
visitor, sometimes common. 

Purple Finch, Carpodacus purpurais. Common sum- 
mer resident. Sometimes a few winter. 



344 HISTORY OF DOVER 

English Sparrow, Passer domcsticiis. Common resi- 
dent. 

Red Crossbill, Loxia cnrvirostra mmo7: A not un- 
common winter visitor. 

White-winged Crossbill, Loxia hnicoptcra. Scarce. 
Irregular winter visitor. 

Redpoll, Acanthis linaria. Common but irregular 
winter visitor. 

American Goldfinch, Spimis tristis. Common resi- 
dent. 

Pine Siskin, Spinns phuis. Rare fall and winter 
visitor. 

Snowflake, Snow Bunting, PlectivpJicnax nivalis. 
Common but irregular winter visitor. 

Vesper Sparrow, Grass Finch, Pooc<ztes gramineiis. 
Common summer resident. 

Savanna Sparrow, Ammodraimis sandzvichcnsis 
savanna. Common migrant, most numerous in fall. 

Grasshopper Sparrow, Yellow-winged Sparrow, Ammo- 
dramus savannantvi passeriiins. Rare summer resident. 

White-crowned Sparrow, Zo7wtrichia leiicopJirys. 
Scarce. Occasionally seen in spring. 

White-throated Sparrow, ZonotricJiia albicollis. Com- 
mon in spring and fall. 

Tree Sparrow, Spizella monticola. Common in 
colder months. 

Chipping Sparrow, Chippy, Spizella socialis. Abun- 
dant summer resident. 

Field Sparrow, Spizella pnsilla. Common summer 
resident. 

Slate-colored Junco, Black Snowbird, y//;/r(? Jiyevialis. 
Abundant transient visitor in fall and spring, less 
common in winter. 



NATURAL HISTORY 345 

Song Sparrow, Mdospida fasciata. Abundant sum- 
mer resident. Sometimes seen in winter. 

Swamp Sparrow, Mclospiza georgiana. Common 
summer resident. 

Fox Sparrow, Passcrella iliaca. Common in spring 
and fall. 

Towhee, Chewink, Pipilo crytJiropJitJialnins. Com- 
mon summer resident. 

Cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis. Casual. Several 
specimens have been seen, but some w^ere doubtless 
escaped cage-birds. 

Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Zaniclodia Indoviciana. 
Common summer resident. 

Indigo Bunting, Passerina cymica. Rather common 
summer resident. 

Scarlet Tanager, Piranga erytJirovielas. Common 
summer resident. 

Purple Martin, Prague sidns. Scarce, local, summer 
resident. 

Cliff Swallow, Eaves Swallow, PetrocJielidon liini- 
frons. Scarce, local, summer resident. 

Barn Swallow, Chclidon crytJirogastia. Abundant 
summer resident. 

Tree Swallow, White-bellied Swallow, TacJiycineta 
bicolor. Summer resident, locally common. Abundant 
in migrations. 

Bank Swallow, Clivicola riparia. Locally common 
summer resident. 

Cedar Waxwing, Cedarbird, Anipelis cedrornm. Com- 
mon summer resident. Frequently occurs in winter. 

Northern Shrike, Butcherbird, Lanins borcalis. 
Rather common winter visitor. 



346 HISTORY OF DOVER 

Red-eyed Vireo, Virco olivacens. Common summer 
resident. 

Warbling Vireo, Vireo gilvits. Common summer 
resident. 

Yellow-throated Vireo, Virco flavifrons. Locally 
common summer resident. 

Blue-headed Vireo, Virco solitarins. Common in 
spring. Rarely breeds. 

White-eyed Vireo, Vireo noveboracensis. Rare sum- 
mer resident. 

Black and White Warbler, Mniotilta varia. Common 
summer resident. 

Golden-winged Warbler, HelminthopJiila chrysoptera. 
Scarce summer resident. 

Nashville Warbler, HebnititJiophila rnhricapilla. 
Common migrant, less common summer resident. 

Northern Parula Warbler, Conipsothlypis aniei'icana 
nsnece. Common in spring. 

Cape May Warbler, Dcudroica tigrina. Rare migrant. 

Yellow Warbler, Dendroica cestiva. Common sum- 
mer resident. 

Black-throated Blue Warbler, Dendroica ccErnlesccns. 
Scarce migrant. 

Myrtle Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Dendroica 
coronata. Abundant migrant. 

Magnolia Warbler, Dendroica maculosa. Rather 
common in spring. 

Chestnut -sided Warbler, Dendroica pensylvanica. 
Plentiful in spring, less common as a summer resident. 

Bay-breasted Warbler, Dendroica casianea. Rare 
migrant. 

BlackpoU Warbler, Dendroica striata. Common 
migrant. 



NATURAL HISTORY 347 

Blackburnian Warbler, Dendroica blackbnriiicB. 
Scarce migrant. Sometimes not uncommon. 

Black-throated Green Warbler, Dendroica vircns. 
Common summer resident. 

Pine Warbler, Dendroica vigorsii. Common summer 
resident. 

Yellow Palm Warbler, Dendroica pabnarnvi Jiypo- 
cJirysea. Common migrant. 

Prairie Warbler, Dendroica discolor. Locally common 
summer resident. 

Ovenbird, Seiurns ajirocapillus. Very common 
summer resident. 

Water Thrush, Seiiinis noveboracensis. Not un- 
common in spring. 

Connecticut Warbler, Geothlypis agilis. Rarely 
seen, in fall. 

Maryland Yellowthroat, GeotJdypis tricJias. Abun- 
dant summer resident. 

Wilson's Warbler, Sylvania pusilla. Scarce migrant. 

Canadian Flycatching Warbler, Sylvania canadensis. 
Not uncommon in spring. 

American Redstart, SetopJiaga rnticilla. Common 
summer resident. Somewhat local. 

American Pipit, Titlark, AntJuis pensilvanicus. Very 
common locally in fall. Less numerous in spring. 

Catbird, Galeoscoptes carolinensis. Abundant sum- 
mer resident. 

Brown Thrasher, HarporJiy)ichns rufus. Common 
summer resident. 

House Wren, Troglodytes aedon. Scarce. Occasion- 
ally one is seen in spring. 

Winter Wren, Troglodytes hievialis. Occasionally 
seen in fall and winter. 



348 HISTORY OF DOVER 

Short-billed IMarsh Wren, Cistothorns stellaris. 
Locally common smiimer resident. 

Long-billed Marsh Wren, Cistothoriis palnstris. 
Locally common summer resident. 

Brown Creeper, CertJiia familiaris americaiia. Not 
uncommon in colder months. 

White-breasted Nuthatch, Sitta carolinensis. Com- 
mon resident. 

Red-breasted Nuthatch, Sitta canadensis. Irregular 
in colder months, sometimes common in late fall. 

Chickadee, Pants atricapillus. Abundant resident. 

Hudsonian Chickadee, Pants /iitdsoniats. Casual. 
One specimen taken in Wellesley, near Cheney estate, 
in fall. 

Golden-crowned Kinglet, Regithts satrapa. Common 
during colder months. 

Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Regidits calcnditla. Not un- 
common migrant. 

Wood Thrush, Tiirdus mnstclijuts. Rather common 
summer resident. 

Wilson's Thrush, Veery, Tiirdns ftiscescens. Com- 
mon summer resident. 

Hermit Thrush, Tiirdits aonalascJikcB pallasii. Not 
uncommon migrant. 

Robin, Merida migmtoria. Abundant summer resi 
dent. Sometimes a few winter. 

Bluebird, Sialia sialis. Common summer resident. 



INDEX. 



Adams, John, 87. 
Agricultural College, 157. 
Agricultural Librarj", 252. 
Alger, Rev. Horatio, Jr., 249. 
Allen, Eleazer, 115. 
Allen, Eleazer, Jr., 115. 
Allen, Hezekiah, 115, 135. 
Allen, Hezekiah Peters, 115. 
Allen, Jared, 135. 
Allen, Perez, 135. 
Allen, Timothy, 116. 
Allen, Timothy, Jr., 136. 
Allen, William H., 311. 
Almshouse, 245. 
Andre, Major, 107. 
Anecdotes, 70. 
Arithmetic, 206. 
'Arlington, 92. 
Associated churches, 63. 
Australian ballot, 231. 
Authors, 297. 

Axes, manufacture of, 286. 
Ayer, Henry H., 301, 304. 
Ayers, Calvin, 312. 
Ayers, Fisher, 134. 

Bachelder, Samuel H., 312. 
Bacon, Ephraim, Jr., 116. 
Bacon, Horace, 136. 
Bacon, Jeremiah, 116. 
Bacon, Jeremiah, Jr., 116. 
Bacon, John, ii5. 
Bacon, Joseph, 116. 
Bacon, Josiah, 116. 
Bacon, Josiah, Jr., 116. 
Bacon, Michael, 116. 
Bacon, Moses, 116. 
Bacon, Silas, 117, 136. 
Badger, Rev. George H., 173. 
Bailey, Rev. Luther, 150. 
Baker, Jabez, 118. 
Baker's Bridge, 8. 
Band of Hope, 276. 
Baptist Church, 183, 244. 
Baptist Church deacons, 186. 
Barker, Rev. Edward, 170. 
Bartlett, Andrew W., 304, 312. 
Battelle, Rev. A. E., 183. 
Battelle, John, 142. 
Battle, Ebenezer, 117, 134. 
Battle, Ebenezer, Jr., 117. 
Battle, Eleazer, 136. 
Battle, Hezekiah, 117, 136. 
Battle, John, 117. 



Battle, Jonathan, iiS, 136. 

Battle, Joseph, 118. 

Battle, Josiah, 118, 136. 

Battle, Ralph, 137. 

Battle, Rufus, 137. 

Battle, Thomas, 22. 

Battles in Civil War, 303. 

Beaver, 12. 

Bell-ringing, i6g, igS. 

Bemis, George, 313. 

Bible in church ser^dce, 63. 

Big Brook, 5. 

Bigelow, Chester A., 313. 

Billings, Elkanah, 32. 

Birds, list of, 336. 

Blacksmith, 2S5. 

Blackwell, Heman, 313. 

Blake, William, 137. 

Boiling Springs, g. 

Boston Daily Advertiser, 165. 

Boston martyrs, 91. 

Boston Tea-party, 87. 

Boy, Joseph, 320. 

Boys, 79. 

Brett, Uriah, 137. 

Brewer, John, 63. 

Brick ovens, 75. 

Bridge Street, 18. 

Brown, James E., 313. 

Brown, John, 11 8. 

Brown, John M., 304, 313. 

Brown, Thomas, 53. 

Brownville, Rev. J. W., igi. 

Brush factor}', 283. 

Bundle handkerchief, 78. 

Bunker Hill, q6. 

Burgoyne"s troops, 105. 

Burke, Edmund, 83. 

Burridge, John, 137. 

Burridge, Obed, 137. 

Burridge, Thomas, 118. 

Butchers, 287. 

Cambridge, 106. 

Candlemas Day, 73. 

Card-playing, 242. 

Caryl, Rev. Benjamin, 54, 55, 57. 64, no. 

Caryl, Dr. George, 234. 

Carpenters, 287. 

Cary, James, 304, 313. 

Catholics, 193. 

Cattle and swine, 11, 227. 

Cedar Hill, 4. 

Cemetery, 194. 



35° 



INDEX 



Centennial celebration, 279. 

Center schoolhouse, 211. 

Center Street, 18, 260. 

Champion, Rev. George, 188. 

Chandler, Rev. S. C, 1S5. 

Chapel Street, 260. 

Charcoal, 13, 2S5. 

Charles River, 2, 6, 7. 

Charles River Street, 19. 

Charles River Railroad, 161. 

Charles River Village, 233. 

Cheese-press, 7b. 

Cheney, James, iiS. 

Cheney, John, iiS. 

Cheney, Joseph, 118. 

Cherry Valley, 104. 

Chestnut Street, 19. 

Chicatabut, 14. 

Chicken cholera, 295. 

Chickering, Daniel, 118. 

Chickering, Daniel, Jr., 119. 

Chickering, John, iig. 

Chickering, Joseph, 119. 

Chickering, Nathaniel, 23, 119. 

Chickering, Samuel, 25, 1 19. 

Christian Register, 165. 

Christmas festival, 181. 

Church decoration, 1S2. 

Church lands, 46. 

Church members, 62. 

Church organ, iSi. 

Church organized, 57. 

Church service, 69, 179. 

Church Street, 19, 261. 

Cider-presses, 275. 

Cigars, 284. 

Civil War, 301. 

Clark, William, 53. 

Clay Brook, 5. 

Cleveland, David, 1 19. 

Colbum, Irving, 314. 

College graduates, 220. 

Committee of Correspondence, 83. 

Commodities, price of, 310. 

Confession of faith, 58. 

Congregational Association of Ministers, 

163- 
Conner, Charles, 314. 
Continental Army, qS, 114. 
Continental currency, 108. 
Cook, Nathan, 119. 
County Street, 18, 259. 
Covenant, 59. 
Crane, Abijah, 120. 
Cross Street, 19. 
Crowii Point, 83. 

Dame School, 204. 
Dana, Samuel, 49. 
Daughters of the Revolution, loS. 
Davis, Rev. Emerson, 65. 
Day, Ralph, 25, 120. 
Day's Bridge, 7. 
Deacons, 60. 

Deacons First Parish Church, 174. 
Dean, Luke, 120. 
Debating society, 27S. 

Dedham's grant of land for Indian settle- 
ment, 14. 



Dedham Street, 18. 

Dedication of meeting-house, 34, 147, 176. 

De Normandie, Rev. Eugene, 173. 

Dewing, Elijah, 120. 

Dingle Hole Narrows, 7. 

District of Dover, 224. 

Dorchester Heights, 98, 99, 100. 

Dorr, Joseph, 53. 

Dover Grange, 277. 

Dover Historical Society, 278. 

Dover mills, 281. 

Dover Street, 19, 261. 

Dover Street, Boston, 13. 

Dover Temperance Union, 276. 

Draft in Civil War, 308. 

Draper, Charles, 137. 

Draper, James, 23, 120. 

Draper, Jesse, 137. 

Draper, John, 120. 

Draper, Joseph, Jr., 120. 

Draper, Josiah, 120. 

Draper, iNIoses, 120. 

Draper, Nathaniel, 120. 

Drawing in schools, 213. 

Droughts, 231. 

Dunn, L. Theodore, 314. 

Duty on tea, 86. 

Dwelling-houses, 2. 

East School, 216. 
Easter, 182. 
Earthquakes, 231. 
Eldridge, Rev. Obed, 173. 
Ellis, Eleazer, 25, 138. 
Ellis, Jesse, 121. 
Ellis, John, 121. 
Epitaphs, 201. 
Evolution of the town, 222. 

Fairbanks, Aaron, 121. 

Fairbanks, Benjamin, 138. < 

Farm Bridge, 7. 

Farm products, 78. 

F"arm Street, 18, 259. 

Farmers, 70. 

Farrett, Thomas, 121. 

Farrington, Aaron, 121. 

Farrington, Ichabod, 121. 

Farrington, Israel, Jr., 121. 

Farrington, Samuel, 121. 

Fauna, 335. 

Fearing, George W., 314. 

Fearing, Perez F., 304, 314. 

Federalist, 161. 

Feicht, William, 321. 

Fenner, Erastus L., 321. 

Ferns, 334. 

Firearms, rii. 

Fire e.\tinguishers, 238. 

First district officers, 226. 

First Parish Library, 178. 

First sexton, 197. 

Fisher, Daniel, Jr., 138. 

Fisher, George, 134, 13S. 

Fisher, John, 122. 

Fisher, Joseph, 122. 

Fisher, Samuel, 122. 

Fisher, William, 122. 

Fisher's Bridge, 8. 



IXDEX 



351 



Flora, 324. 

Flowers, 72. 

Foot-stoves, 69, 147. 

Fortification, 11, 24. 

Foss, Joseph R., 321. 

Fourth Parish, 2, 20. 

Franklin, Benjamin, 83. 

Free schools, 203. 

French and Indian War, S3, 84. 

Frost, John F., 321. 

Fruit, 77. 

Fuller, Daniel, 122, 134, 13S. 

Fuller, David, 105, 122. 

Fuller, Henr>- A., 314. 

Funeral customs, 200. 

Galleries in meeting-house, 36. 

Gardner, Thomas, 122. 

Gay, Ebenezer, 122. 

Gay, Edwin F., 314. 

Gay, Ezra, 123. 

Gay, James, 123. 

Gay, Jesse, 13S. 

Gay, Stephen, 123. 

General Court, 149. 

General Court, representative to, 252. 

Geography, 206. 

Geology, 323- 

Gilbert, Henrj', 321. 

Gilman, Hibbard W., 315. 

Gilman, John T., 314. 

Gilman, Lewis E., 315. 

Girls, 79. 

Glen Street, 18. 

Good Templars, 276. 

Governor's Island, 105. 

Graduating exercises, 213. 

Grand Army, 202. 

Gravestones, 200. 

Great Spring, 6. 

Greenwood, Thomas, 31. 

Groce, William R., 315. 

Guide-posts, 227. 

Hanks, Henry J., 315. 

Hanscom, C. Dwight, 315. 

Hart, William G., 315. 

Hartford Street, 18. 

Hartford turnpike, 236. 

Haven Christian Endeavor Society, 192. 

Haven, Elias, 92, 123. 

Haven Street, 19. 

Headley, Rev. P. C, 191. 

Healthfulness of Dover, 12. 

Hearse, 197. 

Herbs, 72. 

Herring, Lemuel, 123. 

Herring, Petitiah, 123. 

Herring, Petitiah, Jr., 124. 

Hewins, Joseph, 31. 

High-school course, 216. 

Highways, S, 256, 257. 

Hogan, John, 315. 

Home Guards, 305. 

Home Missionary Society, 190. 

Horse-sheds, 36. 

Hotchkiss, Willard J., 321. 

Howard, Rev. H. L., 191. 

Husking-panies, 80. 



Incorporation of district of Dover, 225. 
Indians, g. 

Instructions to Samuel Dexter, Esq., 84. 
Inventions, 293. 

Jennings, Henry C, 304, 315. 
Jones, Adam, 124. 
Jones, John, 2, 84, 86. 
Jones, John, Jr., 86, 93. 
Jones, Thomas, 45. 

Kenrick, Oliver, 124. 
Kitchen, 75. 
Kingsbury, Samuel, 52. 
Knapp, Jesse, 124. 

Ladies' Benevolent Society, 181. 
Land, acres of, 13. 
Larrabee, Joseph, 133. 
Larrabee, Thomas, 99, 124. 
Latitude, i. 

Leach, Augustus A., 316. 
Lennon, William, 316. 
Leonard, Rev. Edwin, 192. 
Liberty-pole, 302. 
Lincoln, Abraham, 10 1. 
Locke, Rev. Calvin S., 172. 
Locke, .Samuel, 51. 
Longitude, i. 
Louisburg, 82. 
Lynn, Daniel, 13S. 

McAllister, William, 316. 
McLaughlin, John, 316. 
Main street, 18. 
Malaria, 7. 
Mann, Daniel, 13S. 
Mann, Elbridge L., 316. 
Mann, George H., 316. 
Mann, James, 124. 
Mann, Lorenzo, 13S. 
Mann, Willard, 139. 
Manning, Joseph, 47, 48. 
Mansfield, William, 125. 
Manufacture of boots, 288. 
Manufacture of paper, 284. 
Manufacture of whips, 2S2. 
Marden, Ellis, 317. 
Marketmen, 290. 
Markham, George R., 304, 316. 
Marriage notices, 169. 
Martin, William, 3 16. 
Mason, Asa, 124. 
Mason, John, 124. 
Mason, Dr. Lowell, 155. 
Mason, Moses, 124. 
Meeting-house, 29. 
Meeting-house burned, 40, 143. 
Meeting-house site, 33. 
Mellen, Nathaniel, 125. 
Memorial Day, 142. 
Mendon Association, 64. 
Menotomy, 92. 
Metcalf, Nathaniel, 125. 
Metropolitan Park System, 26S. 
Militia, 82, 134, 269. 
Milk business, 291. 
Mill Brook, 5. 
Mill Street, 19, 258. 



352 



INDEX 



Miller, Benjamin, 317. 

Miller Hill, 4. 

Millerites, 193. 

Mineralogy, 323. 

Minister called, 47. 

Minute-men, gi, 302. 

Mitchell, Robert, 321. 

Monroe, Thomas, 317. 

Morse, Daniel, 139. 

Morse, Thomas, 125. 

Mudy, Joseph, 139. 

Muster-roll, Lexington alarm, 94. 

Myer, Charles \V., 317. 

Nail factory, 2S1. 
Name of town, 2. 

Needham Farmers' and Mechanics" Asso- 
ciation, 27S. 
Neponset River, 6. 
New England primer, 205. 
New meeting-house, 144, 146. 
New Mill Road, 259. 
New York & New England Railroad, 2. 
Newell, Ebenezer, 125, 139, 241. 
Newell, Josiah, Jr., 139. 
Newell, Reuben, 139. 
Newell, Theodore, 125. 
Newell's Bridge, S, 266. 
Newport, 106. 
Newspaper, 68. 
Nimrod's Rock, 7. 
Noanet, g. 
Noanet Brook, 5. 
Noanet's Hall, 251. 
Noon house, 69. 

Norfolk Agricultural Society, 157. 
Norfolk Congregational Association, 65. 
Norfolk County, i. 

Norfolk County Temperance Union, 276. 
Norfolk Turnpike, 260. 
Noyes, Nathaniel, 52. 
Northwest Territory, 113. 
Norton, Rev. T. .S., iSg. 

Oak Hill, 4. 

O'Donnell, Michael, 317. 
Officers in Civil War, 303. 
Old houses, 74. 
O'Ragan, Timothy, 317. 
Original bounds, 14. 
Otter, 12. 
Ox-teaming, 70. 

Palmer, Rev. Stephen, 65. 

Parish wood-lot, 61. 

Parker, Joseph, 125. 

Parks, 266. 

Parsonage, 61. 

Patriotic women, 309. 

Paupers, 245. 

Pegan Hill, 3. 

Pegan Indians, 9. 

Pegan Street, 19. 

Perry, Amos, 109. 

Perry, Lowell, 139. 

Petition, 27. 

Pews in meeting-house, 42, 43. 

Pewter, 76. 

Physicians, 233. 



Piano, 251. 

Pillar of Liberty, 85. 

Pinch, Rev. Pierce, 190. 

Pine Rock Hill, 4. 

Pine Street, iS. 

Plan of meeting-house, 42, 43. 

Pleasant Street, 19. 

Ploughs, 2S8. 

Pontoon Bridge, 8. 

Population, 67. 

Ports blockaded, 133. 

Postmasters, 233. 

Post-office, 232. 

Potatoes, 13, 76. 

Pound, 227. 

Powder-house, 228. 

Powisset Indians, g. 

Powisset Street, iS, 261. 

Printing business, 293. 

Proctor, Rev. George, 171. 

Proprietors' Library, 243. 

Providence, R.I., 106. 

Public balls, 242. 

Public library, 158, 215. 

Public school education, 156. 

Public worship, permanent, 46. 

Pulpit, 35. 

Pyncham, William, 14. 

Railroads, 160, 26g. 

Rattlesnakes, 12. 

Road-scraper, 261. 

Road surveyors, 262. 

Record, Philo, 317. 

Record, Seth, 317. 

Recruiting committee, 306. 

Red coat, 93. 

Reed, John, 126. 

Relics, 113. 

Representatives to General Court, 227. 

Reseri'e Pond, 6. 

Rhode Island, 106. 

Rice, Rev. A. M., 191. 

Richards, Abijah, 126. 

Richards, Asa, 126, 139. 

Richards, Calvin, 139. 

Richards, Calvin, Jr., 140. 

Richards, David, 126. 

Richards, Ebenezer, 126. 

Richards, Jesse, 126. 

Richards, Josiah, 126. 

Richards, Lemuel, 127. 

Richards, Luther, 140. 

Richards, Moses, 127. 

Richards, Richard, 127. 

Richards, Samuel, 128. 

Richards, Solomon, 128, 140. 

Richards, Thadeus, 128. 

Richards, William, 140. 

Rolling-mill, 2S1. 

Roxbury, 106, 145. 

Sanger, Ralph, 140, 150, 152, 162. 

Sanger schooihouse, 213, 215. 

Saw-mill, 289. 

School districts, 208, 213. 

School libraries, 219. 

School, North, 219. 

School report, 211. 



lA'DEX 



353 



School superintendent, 211. 

School year, 209. 

Schoolhouses, 240. 

Schoolmasters, 205. 

Schools, no. 

Schools, consolidation of, 217. 

Scofield, Coleman, 321. 

Seating the meeting-house, 36, 38, 39. 

Seats in meeting-house, 35. 

Second Congregational Church, 244, 1S6. 

Second Congregational Churcli deacons, 

Second Congregational Church parsonage, 

189. 
Second Congregational Meeting-house, 1S7. 
Selectmen, 253. 
Settle. 75. 

Sewell, Rev. Charles C, 249. 
Shays"s Rebellion, 132. 
Sherman, Nathaniel, 51. 
Shingle-mill, 284. 
Ship-timber, 13. 
Shoemakers, 76. 
Shnickrove, Daniel, 317. 
Shrubs, 333. 

Shumway, Amos W., 141. 
Shumway, John, 140. 
Singers, 36. 
Singing, 180. 
Singing in schools, 213. 
Singing-schools, 79, 242. 
Silver money, 235. 
Slitting-mill, 281. 
Small-pox hospital, 237. 
Smith, Barach, 12S. 
Smith, Ebenezer, 12S. 
Smith, Fred E., 318. 
Smith, Joseph, 129. 
Smith, Lewis, 140. 
Smith, Lewis. Jr., 318. 
Smith, Peter T., 51. 
Smith Street, 18, 259. 
Smitherest, Lewellen, 322. 
Social pleasures, 242. 
Soldiers killed in Civil \\'ar, 304. 
Sons of Liberty, S5, 86, 240. 
Sons of Temperance, 276. 
Soule, Ale.xander, 14. 
South School, 217, 2r8. 
Spinning-wlieels, 76. 
Springdale Avenue, 18, 258. 
Springfield Parish, 2, 90. 
Stamp Act, 84, 85. 
Staples, Howard A., 318. 
Statistics, 299. 
Stevens, John, 304, 318. 
Stimson, Elias, 129. 
Stinson, Alfred A., 322. 
Stone, Eliab, 52. 
Stone steps, 36. 
Stores, 291. 
Stoves, 6g, 147. 
Stowe, Re\-. Calvin E., 243. 
Stowe, Walter, 141. 
Strang, John E., 318. 
Straw business, 282. 
Strawberry Hill, 4. 
StrawbeiTy Hill Street, 19. 
Streets, 17. 



Substitutes, 30S. 
Suffolk County, i, 20, 24. 
Suffolk resolutions, 89. 
Sumner, Ebenezer, 141. 
Sumner, Eugene, 318. 
Sunday-school library, 179. 
Sunday-schools, 177. 
Superintendent of schools, 255. 
Superintendent of streets, 263. 
Sylva, 332. 

Taft, Silas, 129. 

Tailoress, 76. 

Talbot, Levi A., 318. 

Tanner^', 285. 

Tavern, 23S. 

Tavern-keepers, 241. 

Tax-list, 25. 

Taylor, Charles H., 319. 

Taylor, William, 322. 

Tea, 88. 

Tea-parties. 71. 

Temperance reform, 275. 

Tennor, Erastus L., 319. 

Thacher, Rev. P. S., 174. 

Thayer, Ezra, 52. 

Thomas, Benjamin W., 319. 

Thomas, Samuel G. , 316. 

Thomas, William H., 319. 

Ticonderoga, 100. 

Tisdale, .A.nsel K., 319. 

Tisdale, Billings, 141. 
Tisdale, Henrj-, 129, 141. 

Tisdale, James, 141. 
Tithing-men, 169. 
Titles, 40. 
Toll-gates, 237. 
Tombs, 19S. 
Torj'ism, 86, 89. 
Towle, James ISL, 319. 
Town clerks, 254. 
Town Hall, 175, 247, 249. 
Town, how- bounded, i. 
Town librarj', 244, 252. 
Tow-n-meetings, 229, 230. 
To\^-n seal, i6. 
Town treasurers, 255. 
Training-days, 240. 
Travel, 77. 

Trenton, battle of, 101. 
Trout Brook, 5. 
Tub wreck Brook, 5. 
Tyler, Rev. A. H., 191. 

L'nion Congregational Society, 251. 
L'nited States, 132. 
Upham, Jonathan, 141. 

Valley Forge, 104. 
Vines, 333. 

Wade, John H., 319. 
Wall, Patrick, 319. 
Walpole Street, 18, 25S. 
War envelopes, 311. 
War of 1812, 133. 
Ware, Joseph, 31. 
Warming-pan, 75. 



354 



INDEX 



Washington, George, gS, 103. 

Webster, Daniel, 91, 146. 

Weeds, 331. 

Welsh, James, 319. 

Welsh, Michael, 320. 

West School, 216. 

Wheelwright, 286. 

Whiting, Aaron, 97, 129, 133, 149. 

Whiting, Daniel, 104, iii, 113, 241. 

Whiting, Ellis, 130. 

Whiting, Ithamar, 320. 

Whiting, Jabez, 130. 

Whiting, Jonathan, 130. 

Whiting, William, 320. 

Whitney, Job, 53. 

Whitney, Phineas, 53. 

Whitwell, William, 52. 

Wight, Seth, Jr., 131. 

Wight Street, iS, 261. 

Wight's Bridge, 8. 

Wildcats, 12." 

Wilkinson, Ebenezer, 134. 



Will of Joseph Larrabee, 246. 
Williams, John, 141, 241. 
Williams, John F., 320. 
Williams, Joseph, 31. 
Williams, Dr. Samuel, 57. 
Williams Tavern, 239, 240. 
Willow Street, 19, 258. 
Wilson, Ephraim, 131. 
Wilson, Henry, 22. 
Wilson, Rev. J. G., 189. 
Wilson, Samuel, 131. 
Wilsondale Street, 18, 259. 
Winchester, Jonathan, 52. 
Wisset Indians, 9. 
Wolves, 12. 
Women teachers, 205. 
Wood, Rev. John, 190. 
Woodenware, 76. 
Woods, Albert A., 304, 320. 

Young men's seats, 38. 
Young women's seats, 38. 



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